The present is the past
by Jaguarin
Summary: A necklace hide a secret... a dangerous secret
1. Chapter 1

**December…**

Selina Kyle sat in front of a window, watching the snow falling over Paris. She had bought a luxurious department near the Champs Elysées, one of the principal avenues of the city. Inside the room, a soft white couch lay against one of the pink-painted walls, next to an elegant cradle. In her arms, Selina held her baby, a little girl no more than six months old. Selina's index finger was held in the little hands and the woman moved it around as if she was trying to free it from her hold; the baby giggled.

Knowing that was her first Christmas with her own family made Selina Kyle feel excited, she couldn't remember a happy family Christmas; she'd always missed a family. Being a mother was an experience she never expected to be so wonderful. She loved it, she loved her child. The little one had so much of her father; it was something she couldn't describe, she just saw it in her face. Selina had lost her own mother as a child, and her life with her father hadn't been pleasant, until his death.

"Hey, guess what?" she said to her baby, "I bought you something." She freed her finger, reached out to pick up a transparent rattle, with small, colorful balls inside, off of the night table. Little blue eyes widened, noticing the colors in front of them; the baby followed the movement of the object and the sound that it made caught her attention. Selina moved it in front of her eyes, smiling, noticing how she followed the rattle with her gaze.

The girl giggled again and raised her hands trying to reach for it. Selina moved the rattle and laughed, watching how the baby tried, unsuccessfully, to take the rattle; the still clumsy movements of the little baby prevented her from being fast enough to grab the rattle. Suddenly, the child growled angrily. Selina watched in amusement as her blue eyes turned golden and her irises became two thin vertical lines. The baby tried to take the object, but failed again.

"Oh, you are grumpy, Helena." Selina said, touching the little nose with her index finger. She gave her the rattle and the little brunette pushed the object far away with her hands.

"Hey, take it." The blonde opened her little fingers and gave her the rattle. The baby cried and threw the object across the room. Selina raised her brow at seeing the rattle crash against the far wall. "Grumpy and strong. A dangerous combination." Helena really was like holding a sack of screaming cats. "Strong lungs too. Come on." She lifted the small baby and held her against her chest with her head over her shoulder standing up, "My god, Helena, I was just playing with you…"

She heard the doorbell and took the pacifier off the table to put it in the child's mouth. Helena spat it out and cried again. Selina tried once more, but Helena moved her hands up and pushed it back, throwing the object. "Don't do that, it's bad manners." Selina kneeled to pick up the pacifier and moved toward the phone.

"Kyle here."

«Selina, it's a pleasure.» She heard a familiar male voice at the other end of the line.

Selina maneuvered with the crying girl in her arms and put the phone between her shoulder and ear. "Sam, Sam Grey?"

«Yes, it's me. » The man heard the child's cries. «Are you busy?»

"Not exactly, yes… well…" She sighed and looked at Helena again. The baby's cries were echoing around the house, and her hands moving frantically. "Could you just please not cry so loud? We were just playing."

«You have a baby?» the man asked, surprised.

"Yes, it's a long story. Where are you?"

«Paris. »

"Sam, that's wonderful! I would love to see you! May I invite you to dinner tomorrow night?" She lay down, snuggling Helena against her. "Shh, Helena, it's okay, it's okay."

«I would love to see you, too. What do you think if I call you later to ask for your address? You seem to be pretty busy right now. » Selina could swear the man was smirking.

"Yes, great idea, call me in thirty minutes please."

«Done. »

Selina hung up the phone and looked at her baby, "What about a song? Okay?" A sweet voice began to flow out of the tall woman's mouth. The baby's cries diminished slowly, finally turning to a soft purr a few moments later.

Selina lowered her head, her eyes smiled at small eyes, wet with tears, that had changed back to blue. "You're calmer now?" The girl looked at her. "I don't have that temper of yours. Who taught you those bad manners?" The brunette kept her gaze fixed on her. The blonde kissed her head and kept singing, looking at her lovingly; Helena yawned and fought against the sleepiness that began to fall over her. Selina smiled again, noticing how the baby was struggling to avoid closing her eyes. Finally, the weight was too much and she closed them.

Selina kept singing until the baby fell asleep. She put her in her cradle and covered her with a warm blanket, gently brushing the rebellious hair off her face. Smiling, she put her hands on the sides of the cradle and rested her face over it, watching her and singing softly. The baby's skin was white and her cheeks were pink because of the cold. Selina leaned to kiss her cheek and walked outside the room.

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Little blue eyes looked curiously at the person in front of her. The voice wasn't the usual one that talked to her. This one was deeper. Her fine sense of smell told her it was not the familiar scent that she was surrounded with every day. This was different. It itched. She sneezed. Whoever it was, they were talking to her, but she didn't have any clue as to what it was about.

"Bless you," the old man said, looking curiously at the little baby in the playpen near the table. "How old is she?" he asked Selina, who was in the kitchen preparing the salad.

"Just six months," the blonde answered.

"I never imagined you as a mother." Sam was an old friend of Selina. He looked like an old professor from some University, with big eyeglasses and white hair.

"Me neither, but it is the most beautiful experience any woman can have." She walked inside with the salad plate.

"May I hold her?"

"Sure, she's friendly."

The man bent and, taking the baby by her arm pits, he lifted her.

No, it was definitely not the usual person. She tried to focus, attempting to recognize the form in front of her.

Carefully, he cradled her near him. "Hi, baby."

"Her name is Helena." Selina smiled, giving him a milk bottle. "Give it to her."

"And why not your name?"

"I want my child to have her own personality. Helena is a pretty name, it's strong and sweet."

Helena tasted milk on her lips and opened her mouth. Whoever it was, they were feeding her and she welcomed the food!

"Don't you miss your life?" Sam asked.

"No, not at all." Selina began to prepare the table.

The man felt a soft purr between his arms and lowered his head while the baby was kneading the milk bottle with her left hand. "Oh my…."

"What happened?"

"I don't know. She is… trembling…"

Selina laughed, "She's purring, she does it whenever she feels comfortable or happy."

"What?"

"Like a kitten." Selina went toward Sam and carefully took the baby in her arms, and rubbed her nose against hers, "Hi, sweetie." Blue eyes looked up to meet loving ones and she giggled, immediately recognizing the familiar scent.

"She's definitely yours."

"Yes. There's a glass of wine on the table for you, I know you love it. Sit please." The woman sat in the living room. "It's her feeding time, sorry."

"No problem, Selina," the man said, taking the wine and sitting in front of her.

"What are you doing here? I never expected to see you in Paris."

The man sighed. "Long story."

"Well," the blonde smirked, "You are not here for nothing. Tell me."

"Someone stole my Egyptian pendant. Remember it?"

"Are you joking?"

"No, I came here following the trail of the thief, and I found it, but now the pendant is lost. Impossible to recover."

"Why?"

"It's inside an antiquities trafficker's house, a fortress. Impossible to get inside-- security, guards with guns. I'm tired of this," the man said with sadness. "I'm going back to New York this weekend." He looked at the girl and smiled. Raising his finger, he pointed at her.

Selina lowered her head to see. Helena had finished the milk and was playing, making bubbles with it. Her face was covered in milk, as were her clothes. The blonde removed the bottle of milk immediately. "No, no! I told you not to do this." She apologized to the old man, taking a cloth to clean the child's face "Sorry, she loves doing this."

"Don't worry, it's fun."

"It's not polite, Helena." The girl giggled, making more bubbles, "No, no more bubbles, stop it." She stood up and walked toward the playpen and put her there carefully. "Now, stay here while I clean myself. I'm a mess now." The blonde looked at her milk-stained blouse, while the little baby moved her hands and legs. She didn't want to be there. She frowned and growled.

"Strong character," Sam said, looking at her.

"Annoying sometimes." Selina went toward her bedroom, "I'll be right back."

The old man noticed the baby's face turning red. "She looks like she's going to cry."

"She loves tantrums, let her."

"May I?" He pointed to the girl, who was screaming at the top of her lungs, having a tantrum.

"Sure, do anything you want."

The man went toward the baby and raised her. Immediately, she stopped grumbling, feeling someone was picking her up, and giggled.

"See… I told you." Selina said from her room.

"She is cute." The man took the baby's hands and moved them.

"When she is not pissed, she is a pain in the ass."

"Your mom is saying bad things about you, that's terrible." He put his finger between her lips and pushed her bottom lip down. "Hey, a tooth is coming."

"Yes, and be careful, it bothers her and…" The comment was cut short by a loud yell. Selina rolled her eyes, "…and she bites."

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A dark, thin figure landed on the balcony of the dark residence. She avoided all the security alarms and guards. The place was like a big fortress. Kneeling on the floor, she looked around. No one had seen her. Extending her hand, she used one of her long, sharp nails to cut the glass of the window.

After removing the round piece of glass, she moved agilely through the hole and crouched inside the big room. She was inside the library of the big house. Slowly, she walked toward the next wall, one covered with wood; trying to be silent, she pushed a table in front of it to the side, and took a small knife from her belt. Behind the table was a small square. Using the knife she pulled the square out easily. A button was inside and she pressed it. The desk began to move and slid to one side. Hidden under it was a door. The dark woman knelt and opened it. Many small packages filled the security box. She sorted through them, reading the numbers on each one.

She looked anxiously, row by row. Suddenly, they stopped on the number she was looking for. She removed it and opened it.

A marvelous, old Egyptian pendant was in her hands. She closed the box and moved everything back in its place. She crept out of the office and jumped in the garden.

"That's mine." She heard a female voice behind her.

The woman dressed in black looked back. She frowned. "Cheetah?"

"That's mine."

"Excuse me?" The tall woman smirked, raising an eyebrow.

"I said mine!" The back tail swept through the air and hit the blonde's hand, knocking the pendant to the ground.

"Do it again and you'll lose your skin." Blue eyes shone with anger, glaring at Cheetah, the strange woman with cat form. She had been performing experiments on her own body, and the results had transformed her into a human / cheetah hybrid, providing her with the best attributes of both species, but also with the physical appearance of a humanoid cat.

"I'd like to see that…." Cheetah tried to hit her, using her tail as a whip.

The agile Catwoman jumped and rolled over her to take the pendant off the floor with her left hand. She crouched on the floor. "Too slow, honey," she said, grinning.

Cheetah tried to hit her again, but Catwoman took out her whip and threw it towards her, grabbing Cheetah's tail. She pulled and the woman fell to the floor.

"I told you."

Angrily, Cheetah stood up and attacked the woman dressed in black. "Give me that pendant!"

"Sorry, I'm recovering it from this trafficker," she answered, hitting Cheetah with her elbow, "I hate people who steal and then keep things locked up."

"I need it!" Cheetah growled, trying to hit her again.

"Sorry, I saw it first. And it's not mine, it belongs to a friend." Catwoman ducked, but she couldn't avoid Cheetah's claws, which ripped her costume on her side. "Hey careful, that hurts!"

"That's the point!" Cheetah growled.

Angry now, Catwoman kicked her and punched her face, but Cheetah's fist found her gut. The woman was pretty fast and strong. They began to exchange punches; Catwoman had a hard time blocking them; Cheetah had inhuman strength, and she was making so much noise, the guards would soon know they were here. A pain on her cheek broke her thoughts.

"Dammit!" Catwoman growled, putting her hand to her cheek. Cheetah had ripped her cowl with her claws.

"Don't piss me off!" Cheetah growled.

"Exactly what I was going to say." Catwoman hit Cheetah's face which such force that she sent her stumbling back. She looked at her fingers… blood. She hated scratches, especially on her face.

A light suddenly blinded her. "Hey! Who are you?" a voice shouted.

"Party's over." Catwoman ran toward the fence, the guards of the house had discovered them. The Cheetah's tail wrapped around her ankle and she fell down, cursing the woman. She turned over and punched the woman roughly on her face. She raised her leg and tried to kick her, but Cheetah was fast and held her leg.

"Give me the pendant," the feline woman shouted.

"Forget it." Selina took a fistful of sand and threw it in Cheetah's eyes. She quickly jumped over the fence at the moment that several shots hit near her feet. She was in trouble. She lost her balance and fell hard on her side. Before she could stand up, Cheetah was on her again and crashed her fist against her face.

Stunned, the blonde woman refused to open her hand. She wasn't going to let that freak steal her friend's jewel. The feline's grip on her wrist was strong. They struggled until Catwoman leaned and bit her arm hard. Cheetah cried and released her. The blonde took the opportunity and punched her in her gut taking the air out of her. "Sorry, honey," she smiled, "Not your day."

The sound of a bullet smashing next to her feet made her lift her head. Several men were on top of the building pointing at her. "Sorry," she said, jumping toward a tree, "I have an important meeting. See you."

Angry, Cheetah stood up and tried to follow her, when a shot in front of her stopped her. She turned and saw a man a few steps from her, she growled and jumped over him. The other men ran to help their partner.

Five minutes later, a pile of bodies surrounded the devil woman, she removed her claws from the stomach of one of the guards that fell limply to the floor. Her body was covered in the blood of the guards that had tried, unsuccessfully, to stop her. She looked around trying to find a clue as to where Catwoman had gone. With fury, she threw her hand against a tree, breaking it in two with her claws. "Damn bitch! You will pay for this! That pendant will be mine!"

Growling, she disappeared in the night.

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**June…**

**A year later…**

Selina Kyle kneeled at the floor and put a paper party hat on Helena's head.

The baby was sitting on a rug with a cake in front of her. She was dressed in a pink dress and had her short black hair tied back. Little eyes blinked, looking at Selina.

Selina moved back slowly with a camera in her left hand. "That's okay, don't move, Hel, don't move."

Helena brought her hands up, trying to take the object off her head. It itched.

"No, Helena, stay quiet!" Selina raised her hand.

The movement caught the attention of the little brunette, who stopped moving.

"That's it! That's it! Now, don't move!" Selina raised the camera trying to focus on the girl, but the baby raised her hands again and tried to remove the paper hat. "No, Hel!" Selina went to her and, taking her hands, she put the paper hat back on Helena's head.

Helena growled, protesting.

"Just stay quiet for two seconds, Hel, you look beautiful," Selina asked, taking her chin in her her hand smiling.

The little eyes fixed on her smile and giggled.

"That's it, you look beautiful." She gave her a fast kiss on her forehead and moved back. When she turned to take the picture, Helena had the paper hat in her hands, examining it. The elegant woman rolled her eyes. "No, Hel no!"

Helena threw the paper hat and put her other hand inside the cake. It felt nice, she closed her fist against the pink cream. "Helena!" Selina ran to take her hand. The girl giggled and gurgled.

"Yes, it's your cake, but you aren't supposed to put your hand inside it. The cake is for eating." The blonde took a napkin and cleaned her fingers. The baby looked at the cake and put her other hand inside. Selina rolled her eyes and sat on the floor. "Oh God!" Shining blue eyes and the big smile on her little girl's face made her smile too. She smiled and brushed her nose against her. "You are terrible. Mommy will kill you for this next time."

Helena raised her hand and cupped her check. "Ma..." she mumbled.

The elegant woman moved back with her cheek painted with fingerprints of icing and opened her eyes, surprised. "What did you say?"

"Ma… ma… ma," Helena giggled, clapping her hands.

"You're talking!" She hugged her not caring that Helena put her hands covered in frosting on her blouse, "You said ma!"

"Ma… mamamamamama." Helena repeated, giggling.

She heard the door bell and picked her up, kissing her cheek. "It's wonderful, Hel!" She went toward the door and opened it; she found a delivery man with a small package.

«Le packet pour Madame Selina Kyle. » he said.

« C'est moi. »

"Mamama…" Helena kept saying.

« Signez-la, s'il vous plaît. » he extended a tablet with paper.

Selina maneuvered with the girl in her arms and leaned forward to sign it. "Merci."

"Mamama mamamama…"

« Bonne journee, madame. »

« Voilá » Selina closed the door and read the sender's name, Ken Smith. Who was he?

"Mamama mama…" Helena giggled.

"Yes I'm your mommy, honey, and you have made a mess of us. Let me take your picture and, after that, we must take a bath." She sat her on the floor again and took several pictures of her and, later, of the two of them using the automatic button. She put the camera on the table and looked for a spoon in the kitchen, but when she came back Helena was eating a piece of cake using her hands. She sighed, "You are not polite. I must teach you some good manners." She sat next to her, little blue eyes raised to see her and, extending her hand, she showed her mother a piece of cake. Selina smiled and took it with her mouth. "Mmmm, tastes great!" She took a piece of cake with her fingers and put it inside Helena's mouth, who smiled and ate it, "And it's our favorite flavor, chocolate! Happy birthday!"

After taking a shower with Helena, Selina clothed the girl and gave her a bottle of milk. While she was eating, the blonde lay on the bed next to her and opened the package that she had just received.

"Who is Ken Smith?" Inside the box was a letter and a small package covered in paper, she opened it. With sadness, she read the package was from her old friend Sam Grey, he had died a few months ago, and he had mentioned her in his will. He had left her a gift of thanks for all of her support, friendship and help.

She opened the package and found the incredible Egyptian pendant she had recovered a year ago from the antiquities trafficker's house with a small note written by her missed friend: "Thanks so much, a pendant of a queen to a queen. Sam."

Selina marveled, looking at the pendant in her hands.

Helena raised her hand, trying to take it.

"No, no, honey, this is mine." Selina smiled, examining the object. It was incredible. It had the form of an eagle with open wings. She stood up and put it around her neck before stopping in front of a mirror. "Wow," she mumbled to herself, "Sam, this is marvelous."


	2. Chapter 2

**Twenty three years later…**

**Dark Horse Bar.**

"Two beers and a whiskey," Helena said to the customer and turned to the bar.

:So, are you sure about that: Barbara asked over the mic.

"Yes, ask Dinah." The brunette was wearing red pants with a white top. She took an empty glass and poured whiskey in it. The Dark Horse was full of customers that Friday night.

:I'll wait until she comes back from the movies.:

She turned and walked toward another customer. "Nice, I work hard all day and every time the dessert disappears from the fridge, the first suspect is me, and the most probable guilty party, who stole your dessert, is at the movies having fun."

:Not my fault you always stole it.:

"Not today…. Your scotch, sir."

"Talking to yourself again, Kyle?" A patron of the bar smirked at Helena.

The young Kyle rolled her eyes and turned back to the bar. "Thanks to you, my friends think I'm crazy."

:Since when do you care about what other people think of you? See you.:

"Bye." Helena turned and saw a woman seated at the bar. She froze and couldn't avoid staring at her. The woman had a mask covering her face and gloves on her hands. She wore a long brown coat.

"Sorry," the woman said, noticing her discomfort, "I had an accident years ago, I'm burned and people don't like to see my skin."

"Oh… I'm, I'm sorry." The brunette felt stupid, the poor woman must have met many people that looked at her as a freak, "I didn't mean..."

"Don't worry. Always happens."

"Want something to drink?"

"Would you please give me a…?" The woman fixed her eyes on the pendant around Helena's neck, an Egyptian golden eagle. She had seen that beautiful jewelry before. She knew it. "…Nice bird."

The brunette lowered her head and looked the pendant. "Oh… thanks."

"It's a rare piece of jewelry from Egypt. May I see it?"

"Sure." The young woman leaned down and the woman took the necklace between her fingers.

"My God… This is a very rare piece," she whispered.

"Excuse me?"

"I have studied Egyptian art. This is the Victory Palette of King Narmer, 3200BC. I can't believe it!" The woman seemed to be really excited, looking at the old pendant.** "**This palette commemorates the victories of King Narmer, also know as Menes, the first Pharaoh and the unifier of Upper and Lower Egypt." She gave the pendant back to the brunette, who raised a brow "It's a very valuable piece. You must take care of it. There were just five pieces made; two are at The Cairo Museum, another one in London and the other two were lost, antiquities traffickers stole it from the tomb in 1916 and historians think they are in private collections. You have one of them, so… only one remains missing."

The brunette hesitated a second, knowing the dark life her mother lived. She moved back. "Well, I don't think so… it's just a gold pendant, I don't think it's priceless, it's small."

"The legend says that they are part of a puzzle, and that, if you put it together, it shows you the place where the treasure of King Narmer is hidden. For that reason, people have been looking for the two lost pieces. How did you get it?"

"It was my mother's."

"Your mother?"

Helena took the piece between her hands smiling, "She liked it so much. But I never asked her where she bought it." It was best to move away from this topic, the brunette thought, "Want a drink?"

"Oh, yes, yes… Bourbon, please."

"Right." The brunette extended her hand and took a bottle behind her and a glass with her left hand, placing it on the bar.

The woman kept her eyes locked on the pendant "And…" she said, "your mom let you wear it tonight?"

The brunette was becoming uncomfortable; she hated talking about those topics. "She died a few years ago. Sorry, I have work to do."

"Barbara Ann Minerva, nice to meet you," the woman said in a hurry, extending her glove-covered hand.

"Helena Kyle." She gave her a slight smile and took her hand.

"Oh… I'm sure your mom had a nice name like yours."

"No," the young woman shook her head "her name wasn't Helena."

"No?" the woman said with interest, "but a name just as beautiful, I'm sure. What was her name?"

"Selina. I'm sorry. I have work to do."

"Thanks, no problem."

The woman sipped her glass, watching the movements of the brunette. Watching her carefully, her eyes narrowed, yes, she moved like her. Maybe she wasn't as tall as her, but she had her silhouette, her grace. Yes, she was not lying, she was Selina's daughter, and, obviously,… Catwoman's daughter.

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First day of the school week, the garden was full with cars and students. The big hummer was parked in a place reserved for teachers. The High School had offered her reserved parking spot for people with disabilities, but Barbara had refused it. She didn't like feeling different.

The redhead maneuvered herself onto her wheelchair then closed the Hummer door. Dinah was there in time to give her the briefcase.

"Ready for your test?"

"Yes Barbara, thanks for tutoring me in math last night, it really was useful."

"Math is easy."

"Helena doesn't think so."

"Helena is allergic to science."

Dinah giggled.

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A woman sat on a bench in the school park, observing the two women in the distance. She opened a pack with chocolate and bit into it. Her gaze was fixed on the redhead; she had followed each one of her movements since the Hummer had arrived.

When Barbara and Dinah disappeared behind the doors of the High School, the woman sat there silently for a few more moment, her eyes fixed on the Hummer. When she finished the chocolate, she licked her fingers and walked toward her own car, parked a few yards away.

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The night fell over New Gotham. It had been a rough day and the brunette, after her double shift, wanted action; she finished changing her clothes and walked out of the Dark Horse, covering her earring with her hand. "I'm ready, I'm on my way." Hearing Barbara's voice every night sometimes was annoying, but she accepted it as part of her life and sometimes, when she felt alone, she turned on her mic to hear her. Maybe if Barbara didn't have as much of a maternal attitude, it would be better.

:Hurry up, we have a lot of work to do: She clearly could hear the sound of Oracle's hands typing over the keyboard.

"Great, I want to kick some ass." But on the other hand, maybe it was that maternal side thad made her feel like she had a home. "Did you find your dessert?"

:Yes, I apologize.:

"It was the kid right? I told you…" she turned the corner and went toward a dark alley.

"Yes, but you're usually the one who steals my desserts."

"Not always. How was your day at school?"

:Boring, meetings and meetings. I'm not a fan of the meetings.:

"I hate…" Helena's senses warned her of danger; she moved guardedly and turned back in time to see a shadow falling over her. Her unknown assailant hit her on the chest with both feet, making her crash to the ground.

:Huntress: Oracle heard the thud and the grunt.

Before the brunette could react, the shadow was over her again. She felt herself being lifted by the back of her coat by an inhuman strength that threw her against the wall; her head hit the bricks roughly, stunning her. A hard punch to her lower back caused a terrible sharp pain in her side. Some kind of rope looped around her throat and pressed it. The brunette coughed and placed her hands between her neck and the rope, trying to breathe.

Her attacker pushed her against the ground using the rope. The grip around her throat tightened and Helena turned, trying to stand up, only to find a hard fist against her jaw.

Strong hands took her by her lapel and smashed her against the wall. She was sure her head had broken into a thousand of pieces and fallen to the ground. Feeling totally stunned, she moved to her side, instinctively trying to stand up again, but the stranger didn't give her any opportunity;

A hand on the back of her head forced her face down against the cold dirt of the ground and the other one ripped at the back of her coat. She could barely hear Oracle's voice in her head, calling her. She blinked, trying to focus, and realized the hand on her face had claws, one of them a few inches from her left eye; that was not good, what was attacking her? Something warm and wet fell on her left eye, blinding her. She was sure it was blood. Her blood.

She felt, then, the cold, sharp claws of the other hand around her neck and shivered when she heard the loud the growl of something inhuman.

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	3. Chapter 3

Oracle knew her protégée was in trouble, the sounds and her grunts were not a good sign. The sound of fabric ripping made her fix her eyes on the screen. 

"Huntress?"

Another unexpected growl made her freeze.

"Huntress, answer me."

The redhead pressed some buttons, trying to locate the position of her protégée. A gasp from the young crime fighter echoed over the speakers and, suddenly, the communication with her com was dead.

"Huntress, answer me!" She turned her wheelchair around and moved toward another computer, confirming that the com line was dead.

"Is she all right?" Alfred asked, standing at the base of the platform in front of the redhead. He had heard the commotion from the kitchen.

"I don't know, I lost her, she was talking to me and now I can't contact her."

"Is she far?"

Long, quick fingers typed at the keyboard. "I have her last location. One block from the Dark Horse bar."

Dinah appeared at the elevator; she had heard the conversation while training in the gym and had run to the Delphi. "What's happening?"

"Helena's com died… go to Fifth Street, a block from the Dark Horse. Her last signal came from there."

"On my way."

Barbara looked at her clock impatiently; the seconds seemed like hours. She needed to calm herself. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. It was hard, she had heard her gasp and later silence. What had happened? Again her eyes fixed on the electronic clock of the computer. Dinah had left fifteen minutes ago. She needed twenty minutes, more or less to get there.

She's not here. Are you sure this is the right place? Dinah's voice pulled the cyber genius from her thoughts. She checked the monitor again.

"She was exactly at the point you are now, Dinah, check around, there must be some trace of her."

It was in these kinds of moments when the redhead wished could have a video camera added to the com. Not being able to see what was happening and just trying to visualize through sounds was stressful.. Her eyes were fixed on the screen, waiting, while she tapped her fingers nervously on her mouth.

Barbara, her coat is here, it's ripped…

"What?" The redhead looked, with concern, at Alfred, who had walk inside the room with a cup of coffee.

It's ripped as if it was cut with a knife, I found it inside a trash container.

The sound of the elevator doors opening made the redhead look up expectantly. The thin brunette was covered in dust and looked as if she had been dragged along the ground, by the look of the bruises and cuts on her. She was holding a small cloth against her forehead. Barbara and Alfred looked at her, surprised.

"Helena!" Green eyes examined her.

"Hi." The brunette walked inside, her face couldn't hide her disgust.

"What happened to you, Miss Helena?" The old man walked to her.

Helena is there? Dinah asked.

"Yes, she is here, come back."

"Some damn animal attacked me," Helena grumbled.

"Animal? Infirmary." Barbara turned her chair and wheeled toward it. "Alfred…"

"I know, clean, warm water," the loyal butler said.

The girl sat on a chair feeling angry, her back hurt like hell. But it was her pride that was the most hurt; she hated to be surprised by someone.

"Exactly what happened?" The redhead stopped in front of the metallic bed in the infirmary where Helena was sitting, after putting gloves on her hands. Delicate fingers took the bruised young crime fighter's chin with her hand and examined the wound on her forehead.

"I don't know… someone attacked me, he was damn fast and strong, he put me on the ground in one second. Dammit! I hate that"

"Was the person that attacked you trying to open a wall with your head?" the redhead asked worriedly.

"I think so." The brunette winced when Barbara cleaned the cut with cotton. The redhead noticed her neck, she had a big bruise around it, as if a rope had been pulled around her. Her eyes lowered; she moved Helena's head to the side carefully, the young woman had four deep scratches on the back of her neck.

"I'm a mess."

"Yes. Bend down."

The girl obeyed. The cyber-genius saw that her back was scratched. "Shit, what the hell attacked you?"

"Warm water here," Alfred said.

"The person that attacked me had claws instead of nails."

"Claws?" An eyebrow shot up. That explained the strange cuts on Helena's body. The younger woman's back was all scratched up. When her attacker had ripped her coat and necklace, he had done it roughly.

"He put me against the ground and climbed on my back, he pulled my necklace to take it, but it didn't break and hurt my neck. He needed to use both hands to rip it off me. He threw it against the wall." She took the shattered necklace from her pocket.

"Shit…" the redhead mumbled, looking at the object.

"It will be hard to repair it."

"I don't think it will work again." Barbara took it in her hands.

"The Ferrari is gone?" Alfred gave her a wet cloth.

"Unfortunately. Can you excuse us for a few minutes, I need Helena to remove her blouse."

"Right, Miss Barbara; I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything."

"Okay, Helena, lay down."

"Can we do it sitting up? It's a bit painful to move."

"All right." The redhead wheeled and stopped in the other side of the bed, helping her to remove the shirt. She leaned and, taking a wet cloth, began to clean her back. Thankfully, the scratches weren't deep.

"I was stupid, I let him surprise me," the brunette grumbled.

"Don't feel guilty, he must have been fast and strong to surprise you."

"I should have been faster. He jumped on me easily and knocked me down. He put his hands around my neck and I thought he was to cut my throat, but he just ripped my necklace."

"Did you piss him off?"

"I don't know who he is. Ouch, careful…" The brunette jumped slightly.

"Sorry… What was he looking for?"

"No idea. As soon as he appeared, he disappeared."

"Did you see him?"

"No, he always had me face down. I don't know what he looks like, and he never said a word."

"All right. He must have a reason for attacking you; I don't think there's a meta human that just attacks people to rip their clothes."

"Expensive clothes… wait…meta?"

"Only a meta could have the strength to throw you against the ground like that," the redhead said calmly, cleaning the wounds, "and the fact that he had claws instead fingers is another clue."

"Could you hurry up? Its cold."

Nodding, Barbara took another piece of gauze and poured alcohol on it.

The woman sat inside her car outside the Clock tower. She had been there a few hours just watching the place. She never had been there but she knew they lived there. She knew many secrets about Barbara Gordon. It was always an advantage know your enemy's secrets.

And was even more of an advantage too if they didn't know anything about you. She checked her watch, started the engine, and moved her vehicle down the street. She needed to hurry.

Angry.

Annoyed.

Pissed.

Well maybe all of the concepts where perfect to define how she felt. The brunette closed the Dark Horse Bar and walked up stairs. Barbara had given her one of her big NGPD sweaters. Her back and the scratches inflicted by that that thing still bothered. Luckily she healed fast and she will be okay next day.

Her coat.

Pretty coat.

Expensive coat.

That was the thing that truly pissed her off. That had been a pretty nice coat, a very expensive one. She searched for her keys and opened the door of her apartment. She didn't need to turn on the lights to see what had happened. Feral eyes opened wide, surprised at the mess inside her place. Drawers out of place, clothes everywhere, the couch turned on its side.

"Oracle."

I'm here. What's up?

"Some one trashed my place." The angry girl walked inside, picking up some of her things as she went.

What?

"Dammit!" the young woman growled looking around, "it's going to take forever to clean this mess. Some one was here and went through all my stuff."

Maybe was a robbery. Check the place.

Blue eyes fixed on a portrait on the floor, face down. She kneeled to pick it up.

Is there some window open? Broken? Oracle asked.

The brunette raised the object and turned it to face her. She narrowed her eyes.

Huntress?... Are you there?

"I don't know what to think…" the brunette mumbled.

What happened?

"Whoever was here… they seem to have issues with my family." The frame between Helena's hands was broken. Inside a hung picture of Selina and Helena during a trip to Niagara falls. Selina's picture was intentionally scratched.

I don't understand

The brunette's senses tingled, she rolled on her side on time to avoid something falling over her. She crouched on the floor and looked up. In front of her was a strange kind of… lion? "It's rude not to knock on doors before you walk in." she grumbled.

The big cat form jumped over her and Helena rolled again to her side and turned faster to kick her back. The lion… woman? Helena's eyes narrowed. She had a tail and spots. That was weird, a lion woman?

That thing growled loudly and raised her hands showing her claws.

"Impressive." The brunette mumbled raising her arm to avoid a blow. She hit the "panther's" gut with her free arm. "Oracle…"

Yes?

"I have a visit, a kind of lion-woman it's here, and isn't nice." She hit the stranger twice.

Lion woman?

Huntress felt a hard fist on her jaw and stepped back. She took her hand toward her lip. "I'm guessing meta, it's pretty strong…. And it's got a tail." The tail wrapped around her throat and pulled her down with incredible strength.

Tail?

"Would you please stop to answer with… questions and help me a bit here?" the brunette gasped moving her fingers between the tail and her neck.

Okay, can you describe her to me a bit more?

The woman's strength was amazing. She threw the young crime fighter across the room, smashing her hard against the wall.

"Dammit…" she growled. Oracle careful bandaging had been screwed.

"Where is it?" the strange woman growled walking toward her.

Huntress looked her, puzzled.

"I asked, where is it?" she tried to grab the brunette.

Huntress raised her leg and kicked her back, "Where is what?".

"I want it! Give it to me!" the woman jumped over her trying to grab Huntress' throat with her hands,and both rolled on the floor

Huntress grabbed her wrist "I guess…" she said impressed by the woman's strength "she is the same one that attacked me a few hours ago…"

How do you know?

"Claws, big claws instead nails." The brunette used her head to hit the stranger harder on her nose to stun her and buried her knee on her gut. She pushed her back and her cat vision could see her much better, "It's a woman and looks like a jaguar…"


	4. Chapter 4

"Jaguar?" Oracle frowned. She typed at her keyboard; a grunt echoed on the place. "Are you okay?"

:That was her, not me.:

"Glad to heard that." She moved her glasses up to her nose with her index finer looked the results on the screen. She heard another grunt, "Don't be so rude, Huntress."

:That was me:… the young woman gasped, Cheetah had connected with a punch on her side :…she hits hard….:

The red head's eyes blinked finding a name "Cheetah?... Huntress, Does she have the facings of a jaguar?"

:Yes… and a big moustache…:

"Could be Cheetah… she is dangerous, be careful."

A table breaking was heard. :Who's this Cheetah:: Huntress asked.

"Cheetah made some experiments on herself and transformed herself into a human / cheetah hybrid, providing her with thebest attributes of both species, but also with the physical appearance of a humanoid cat."

---------------------------------------------------------------

"What do you want here?" Huntress went to the woman that was lying on the floor.

Cheeta licked her lower lip and looked angrily at the young woman. It seemed as if she were as powerful as the Catwoman; it confirmed that she was thinking; if the pendant was her mother's, her mother must be Catwoman, and her strength proved it. She was her daughter. Abruptly, she moved her tail and, using it as a rope, took Huntress' ankle and pulled her down. In a minute, Cheeta was over her.

"Where is it?" she growled.

"Where is what?" Huntress grabbed her wrists to avoid being scratched

"The necklace, I want the necklace! Give it to me!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" the brunette used both feet to push her back. This time the young crime fighter didn't give her time to react and hit her twice. Cheetah tried to hit her but Helena ducked an kicked her again. The woman crashed against the couch and fell again to the floor. Helena jumped over her and twisted her arm back. "Now stay calm, tell me what do you want and who you are."

The tail of the woman slapped Huntress face harder. The brunette released her and stepped back. She growled taking her hand to her check, that damn tail was nasty. Cheeta moved faster and ran toward the window jumping through it breaking the glass. Huntress followed her and stopped at the window's frame. The agile woman had jumped using her tail toward the rooftop of the next window.

"She's gone." The brunette said pissed.

:Is she gone? Are you okay: Oracle asked.

"Yes, I'm okay." Huntress touched her back, the bandage that Barbara had used to cover her back was a mess. She turned and looked her place, it was a disaster, her photo albums around the floor between broken furniture and shattered glasses, "Dammit."

:What did she want:

"I don't know she said something about a necklace. You should see my place Oracle, it's a disaster."

:Come here immediately.:

"Again? It's three at the morning. I know you can work all night but we, the normal people practice something called sleep."

She could hear the red head sighing::Stay here; there is a free room. I'm worried about you, it's the second time in one night that she attacks you. She knows where you live, you comm. is broken.:

"I'm okay, I'll be okay, don't worry, I know now to take care of my self."

The red head, not convinced, accepted. Helena was stubborn and no one could make her change her opinion. All right, take care and call me if you need help.

"All right. Huntress out." The brunette turned off the comm and looked around, well, now where the hell she would start to clean?

----------------------------------------

On a rooftop not far away, Cheetah paced, angry. She needed to be smarter; the young woman really was stronger than Cheetah herself was. She had thought at the beginning it would be a piece of cake but no, she'd been wrong. Helena really was the image of Catwoman, agile, faster, stronger; and she'd been able to fight perfectly well in the room's darkness. So it meant she was not a normal human being, so her vision was enhanced. Fighting with her at night would be hard, and darkness would not be an advantage; it would be as dangerous as fighting during the daytime.

She needed the necklace, she needed it.

She had managed to hit the brunette easily at the alley, but it was because she had surprised her, and would be very difficult try to surprise her again. Now she was expecting her. The girl was smart and it would be hard to defeat her under normal circumstances.

Cheeta looked down to the city. "Under normal circumstances." She mumbled to herself ,smiling, "Normal circumstances.".

She knew how to get her.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

"Dr. Barbara Ann Minerva was a skilled scientist specializing in genetic engineering, she studied the possibilities of genetic animal augmentation for the purpose of improving human attributes. Dr. Minerva chose to use herself to test a formula, and spliced cheetah DNA into her own body." Barbara explained to Dinah, wheeling inside the parking of the New Gotham high School.

Dinah looked the pictures that Barbara had in her computer, "She looks like a freak."

"She is dangerous."

"What is she doing here if New Gotham wasn't a place where she used to appear?"

"Good question, I don't know." The red head turned off the engine, "Okay, here we are."

"A scientist that experimented with herself splicing cheetah DNA into her own body." The teen closed the laptop, "that is weird."

"Another candidate for Arkham." Barbara removed her seat belt. "I'm trying to figure out why she's suddenly is so obsessed with Huntress."

"Tell me which criminal is not obsessed with her." The teen smirked.

"You're right."

--------------------------------------------------

Brown eyes observed the two women while they moved down her vehicle. As she followed each movement of the women, she rubbed her chin. They were predictable. A stupid mistake coming from some one as smart as Barbara Gordon.

A deadly mistake for the redhead.

But a lucky mistake for her.

She smiled to herself.

---------------------------------------

Helena cleaned the bar. She wasn't in a good mood, after cleaning her apartment until the daybreak, she'd had to wakeup early to start the inventory she had promised Leonard two days ago.

Waking up early wasn't her favorite activity; and she was still annoyed that her stranger visitor had broken some of her mother pictures. She stopped her working. She'd forgetten to tell Barbara, maybe it would give her a clue about what the woman was looking for and which necklace was she talking about.

She suddenly remember something. The strange woman at the bar who had visited her the last night; she had been very interested in the collar she had been wearing. She took her keys and opened a drawer of the bar, where she had left the necklace the night before she'd gone out. Maybe that was the collar the woman was looking for.

Another idea came to her. Since when that woman had been following her? How had she known Helena had the necklace? Or had been just a random chance that she had found her at the bar. She put the necklace inside her pant pocket and closed the drawer.

She looked her watch, her mentor was still at school; but she would back soon. Impossible to call her, since Barbara's phone was always out of service at school. Her beeper worked, but this wasn't something she could explain over a beeper.

She took her coat and walked outside the place to look for her. Leonard would be pissed but well, when he wasn't pissed with her?

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Firm steps walked through the corridors of the High School. She looked for Barbara, Barbara Gordon, ex-Batgirl and now former crime fighter, daughter of Commissioner Gordon.

Ironic life was ironic; she had spent half of her life seeking revenge on her and she had been so close to her almost all her life. A young teen appeared in the hallway.

"Hi," she smiled, "Have you seen Barbara Gordon?"

"Sure," the guy said, "She's in the last corridor to the right.

"Thanks so much."

"Pleasure."

Her time was near, and she would get her. She smiled and went to the place where she knew she would find her. She moved her hand toward a pocket in her coat and took out a dart gun.


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry for the delay… I was a bit full with work… enjoy and thanks….

-----------------------------

Barbara was checking some exams at her desk, it was one of those days where she could work peacefully without interruptions. It had been a week of exams and she needed to grade them so she could send the results in time for reports.

Without the redhead noticing it, the lock of the door moved. Slowly, it began to open.

Many of the students weren't good in English, she needed to work a bit more on it. She didn't understand why it was so hard for people to try to learn more about their own language. Helena had been a big headache on English, her mind was exceptional, she could learn fast, but she didn't like the classes; she never studied and her grades were low; only when she was in trouble did she surprise everybody with her knowledge.

She was so distracted that she didn't notice the woman walking slowly toward her.

"Hands up," the woman said.

Barbara raised her eyes in time to see an object flying toward her. She raised her hand and caught it easily. She looked at it.

"Bran cookies?" she asked.

"You're always saying you have to keep an eye on your weight." Helena sat on a chair and propped her legs up on Barbara's desk.

The redhead raised her brow. "Feet down."

The brunette rolled her eyes and crossed her legs, opening a package of cookies that she had in her hands.

"Bran cookies too?"

"Oreos." Helena put a cookie in her mouth. "I'm growing."

"Sure." The redhead smiled and opened her cookie bag, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm trying to socialize; you told me that I should be more friendly. I came to visit you."

"Sure, now tell me the truth. You don't like school."

"It's not that I don't like school, I'm allergic to it."

Barbara laughed, she was incorrigible.

Helena swallowed her cookie and looked at her mentor. "I remembered a woman that was at the bar last night. She was weird, she was all covered in clothes, she said it was because she had been burned. But she looked at the necklace I was wearing and she was very interested in it, she asked me many questions."

"What necklace?"

-----------------------------

She walked slowly toward the door and looked inside carefully through the small window. Well, now she was there too. Seemed as if they were twins, they always were together. Barbara would be easy, but the young woman, not so much. She fought her before. Bad timing.

-------------------------------

"The Egyptian one, one of my mom's favorites." Helena looked inside her pocket and took it out, "Could be a clue, I brought it to you, maybe you can check on it. The woman that attacked me said something about needing it and last night, after I finished my work, I left it inside the drawer of the bar. If she was looking for it my apartment, she never found it."

The redhead took in her hands. "Maybe you are right and this is the clue that we need to know what Cheetah is doing here."

"She broke some of mom's pictures, so it got me thinking that maybe they had some trouble. I don't know, it would be interesting to know."

Barbara noticed Helena's eyes changed suddenly and turned her head toward the door. She followed her protégé's gaze and moved her hands to take her batons. Helena's sixth sense never failed. Helena signaled to Barbara to stay quiet and she moved silently toward the door. Her senses were on.

She opened it abruptly and grabbed the neck of the person that was near it, raising her fist.

"Helena! What's wrong with you?"

"Dinah?" Disconcerted, the brunette blinked.

The teen pushed her hands away. "Let me go!"

"Dinah…" Barbara said surprised.

"Did you see someone here?" Helena looked around.

"Well… yes, a woman was standing here, but she went downstairs." The blonde pointed at the stairway that was next to the door.

Helena looked down and saw a woman running downstairs, two floors below. She jumped down easily. She landed on the floor below. At that moment, she heard the school bell.

"Damn," the brunette growled, running to get the woman before the students went outside their classrooms, but it was too late. In a second, the corridor was full of students blocking her way.

Unsuccessfully, she tried to follow the woman, but the students stopped her. Finally, she surrendered and, grumbling, she walked back upstairs.

"Who was it?" Barbara asked her protégée as she came upstairs. The brunette was visibly annoyed.

"I don't know, I couldn't get her. She escaped among all the students that came out of their classes." Helena paced in front of her friends in the hallway with her hands behind her back.

"Cheetah." Dinah mumbled, crossing her arms.

"She is following you," Barbara added.

"No one follows me."

"Well, she was here…"

Helena glared to Barbara, "Don't go there again."

"Well, she was here, we have just two options." Dinah sighed.

"What two options?" Helena frowned.

"She was following Helena or she was following you, Barbara."

"Me?" Green eyes opened, surprised.

"Well, she was here at school, right?"

"Why she would be following me?"

"I don't know, but if it was Cheetah, now she knows that Barbara is your friend and where she works. That is not good."

Barbara and Helena turned her head to look at Dinah and, after a few seconds, they looked ateach other.

"Point for her," Barbara said to Helena.

"I hate when she is right." The brunette raised her brow.

"Did you see her, Dinah?" the redhead asked.

"No, she walked downstairs, and she had a scarf over her head."

Helena growled in annoyance, she was playing a game she didn't like. The redhead wheeled back toward her classroom to pick up her briefcase. "We need to get back to work and check all the clues again." She raised her hand to show Helena's necklace. "This will help us a lot."

--------------------------------------

**Two days later…**

"Come on Barbara," Helena pleaded, following the redhead around the platform. She was wearing a sleeveless, white blouse and red pants.

"I'm busy, I'm sorry, Helena." Barbara sighed; her protégée was obstinate and sometimes annoying. She was investigating Cheetah. She couldn't find any clues and Helena was worried about the groceries at the Clock Tower.

"You always are busy, why don't you take your time?

"I'm taking my time, but you want me to use my time to help you not lose your time, for me that is a waste of time."

"Taking time to buy food is not waste of time."

Barbara raised her brow and wheeled onto the platform. "Okay, you are right; I'll go shopping on Sunday."

"Sunday?" the brunette protested. "Today is Wednesday!"

"And tomorrow Thursday, you are smart."

"Not funny… Well, the kid can…"

The redhead turned. "'The Kid'" is busy, she has exams, and I don't want to see her distracted. Why don't you eat a sandwich? There is chicken too, and beef."

"Alfred's lasagna is much better. He said he can cook it, we just need to get him the stuff."

"Sunday." Long fingers pressed buttons on the keyboard, "I need to finish this."

The brunette crossed her arms. She didn't understand how Barbara could survive with frozen food and sandwiches. Alfred had promised to make her lasagna. She loved it, but he had postponed for almost two weeks because Barbara was busy working and Dinah was busy at school, it was the end of the year. "But I have been asking you for two weeks now."

"Helena, go by yourself. I'm busy. It seems as if your mother's necklace isn't unique, several exist."

"There are more?"

"I think it is part of a puzzle, maybe that's the reason Cheeta is looking for it."

The crime fighter cocked her head, "May I go?"

"You never ask me permission to go to any place, why…?" Barbara understood what she was looking for and turned to look at the brunette sternly. "No way."

"Please!"

"No, no, forget it."

"Just was a small accident," Helena protested.

"A small accidents?"

"I was chasing your bad guy."

"You could've gone around the fire hydrant. The repair of my Hummer was expensive."

"Barbara…"

"Helena..." The redhead rubbed her temple with her left hand, she knew that Helena would be annoying her all day with that.

Suddenly, the Delphi alarm sounded loudly. The redhead turned to her computer and typed at the keyboard.

"What is it?" Helena asked.

"I'm checking."

"It's Reese, a murder, Johanson building."

"We'll go there."

-------------------------------------------------

"Here is the guy, did you know him?" Reese showed the pictures of the dead man to Huntress on top of the building. Dinah was standing next to them.

"No."

"The cuts were made with a knife?" the blonde asked.

"Looks like claws." Reese said.

"Your friend," Dinah said.

The brunette looked at her, raising her brows.

"Your friend?" Reese asked.

"Not my friend, I had a fight with a strange woman a few days ago, she looks like a Cheetah. Her body has black spots, she has cat eyes and big claws."

"Who is she?"

"Oracle says her name is Cheetah. Apparently she injected Cheetah DNA into herself and she turned into one."

"You know very strange people." The detective scratched his head.

"Tell me about it." Huntress looked at the pictures. "We are investigating her. What's the guy's name?"

A woman hid behind a rooftop a few blocks from where the three were talking. She observed them with her binoculars, attentively.

"Mathew McEnroe; he was fired from the Chemical Factory of New Jersey and then worked for criminals in the underworld."

--Chemicals? What was she looking for with chemicals.--

"No idea," Huntress answered, looking at the pictures.

"Hearing voices in your head again? You worry me." Reese smiled.

"I call it 'talking with myself.' " she winked.

"That's a relief. Well, I must go, I must finish this."

"I'm losing my charm," the brunette flirted with him, "Are you leaving?"

He smiled and placed his hand on the back of her head, pulling her gently toward him. He brushed her lips. "We are working."

--Right, you are working.-- Helena heard Oracles' voice in her ear. Dinah laughed.

The brunette rolled her eyes. "May I have a private moment for just one second?"

--Not when you are working.--

"See you later, baby." He gave her a fast kiss and walked toward the stairway, "Keep talking with the voices in your head."

"I don't see the humor in this," Helena glared at the blonde.

"You always tell me that being a superhero is not easy."

"Yea, yea, yea."

--Reese gave you something interesting?--

"A photographs of the dead man." The brunette put her hand over her ear, "I'm sure it's her, only she has nails so long."

"It won't be pleasant to fight with her." Dinah studied one of the pictures.

"Be sure of that. I would like to know what issue has she with my mom. Did you find anything Oracle?"

--Not yet. Now I'm trying to track down the story of your mom's necklace. It seems that the woman who talked with you at the bar was telling the truth. The piece is ancient. Do you remember who gave it to your mom.--

"She told me it was a friend, but I don't remember the name, just that she helped him to recover it, and, when he died, he gave it to her as a present."

--All right. Come back, you two, I want to see the pics Reese gave you.--

--------------------------------

"It's done," the man said to the woman covered in clothes, raising a small tube.

The woman took it and observed it carefully, "Are you sure this works?" They were inside a dark room, in downtown of New Gotham. The walls were dirty and in the kitchen she could see dishes that had gone weeks without being washed. The guy wasn't exactly the epitome of cleanliness.

"Yes. Perfectly." He put a drop of the liquid on a piece of bread and called a cat that was licking her paws in a corner. He leaned and showed the piece of bread to the animal "Come here, kitty."

The cat immediately moved and walked with fast steps toward his owner. He smelled it and licked it.

The animal took three licks when, suddenly, it growled and froze. He fell to his side.

Cheetah raised her brow in surprise, examining the unmoving form. "Is he dead?"

The man smiled, lifting the animal, "No, paralyzed. I used a virus that attacks meta human cells. The Virus is harmless for humans, but for a meta sometimes the virus induces unconsciousness quickly and paralyses the bigger muscle group, without compromising autonomic functions. It can kill a meta in 48 hours. Exactly what you need."

"Mmmm". the woman purred "I love it!"

"Well, I did my work, what about my payment?" He stood up and smiled at her.

She walked toward him and grinned, "Thanks so much, you were so nice."

The man felt a sharp of pain in his gut. Cheetah laughed, burying her claws deeper inside his chest. He held her hands and tried to catch his breath; "I hope this 'thanks' will be enough." Slowly, he slipped down and fell lifelessly to the floor.

She walked toward the table and took the tube. She examined it a few seconds and grinned. It was perfect. She put it inside her pocket and walked outside the room.


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry for the delay, I was moving... Thanks to my editors, ooby and nutstalker...

-----------------------

Barbara took a sip of coffee. She had been researching the necklace that Helena had given her, unsuccessfully. It was as if that strange jewel had never existed. She put her hand on the back of her head and moved it side to side. She heard the "pop" of her bones. It felt delicious.

A beep signaling at her computer made her turn. She pressed some buttons and an image appeared on the screen.

"Did you find something?" The blonde teen walked onto the platform, hands in her jean pockets. Her hair was wet after taking a warm bath.

"The nacklace is the Victory Palette of King Narmer, 3200BC."

"He was important?"

The redhead adjusted her glasses and leaned over the screen.** "T**his palette commemorates the victories of King Narmer, also know as Menes, the first Pharaoh and the unifier of Upper and Lower Egypt." She pressed a button."This is a picture."

Dinah leaned down, putting her hands on her knees to look at the picture, "It's like Helena's."

"Yes."

"Where do you think Helena's mom got it?"

"There were just five pieces made; two are at The Cairo Museum, another one in London and the other two were lost. Antiquities traffickers stole them from the tomb in 1916 and historians think they are in private collections. The pieces at the museums were stolen a few weeks ago, and Reese suspects that the man that was found dead last night had one of the lost pieces."

"Why?"

"He found a box, which had an impression in the form of a necklace on the inside. He gave you some pictures last night. Here is one."

"It's the same form as Helena's necklace."

"Yes."

Barbara leaned back in her chair, scratching her head with her left hand, "So… only one remains missing."

"Helena's?" Dinah looked her.

"I guess."

"Why do they want it? How does it work?" The teen pulled up a chair and sat next to the redhead.

"How did Helena's mom got it?"

"Helena said a friend gave it to her. Helena was pretty young. She just knows what her mother told her."

"Do you think her mom stole it?"

"I don't know. Could be."

"Do you think?"

"Selina was a professional burglar, a pretty good one, it's a possibility."

"My mother didn't steal the necklace," an angry voice echoed in the Clocktower.

Dinah and Barbara turned, surprised to see Helena standing at the bottom of the platform, golden cat eyes glaring at them.

"Helena…" Barbara felt her cheeks blush, "Oh… I'm sorry... we didn't…"

The brunette felt her jaw clenching; how could Barbara think that? "She didn't steal it! She told me!"

Barbara felt the weight of the girl's gaze, understanding her protégé's anger. "I know she told you, but…"

"She would never lie to me." Firm steps echoed in the ClockTower when she walked toward her mentor, Dinah moved back, she never had seen her partner so annoyed.

"We didn't mean to imply that, Helena…" The redhead tried to take her hand, but the brunette jerked back.

"But you did." Fists in balls, Helena's jaw trembled trying to control her anger, "You already did." She turned and walked to the elevator.

Both women watched her disappear behind the elevator doors. Barbara moved her hand toward her nose and rubbed it, closing her eyes. She had screwed up. She knew how sensitive Helena was about her mother, but she never expected she would walk inside the Clock Tower at that moment.

Dinah, ashamed, mumbled "Maybe we should apologize."

Barbara sighed. "No, I know her, it's much better lto leave her alone." She moved her head. "Her mother… is a topic that still hurts her."

The teen felt guilty for Helena's reaction, she gave Barbara the suggestion that maybe Helena's mother had stolen the necklace "I'm sorry, Barbara, this is all my fault."

The redhead smiled gently at her and moved closer; she took the teen's hands between her own. Green eyes fixed on clear blue. "Don't worry, Dinah, it's okay."

"But…"

"You know Helena, she has a strong temper. She is sensitive about her mother; she loved her very much, she still loves her." Barbara sighed. "She told me once that every day she wakes up thinking of her and the 'what if… she would still be alive' scenario." The redhead patted her hand. "Leave her alone; I'll talk with her later, don't worry. Okay?"

The young girl nodded.

Barbara smiled, "Right, now I'll finish this research and while you do your homework."

"All right." The blonde stood up and walked toward the elevator. Barbara followed her with her gaze and smiled; she was still an innocent girl.

The elevator doors closed, Dinah looked at the buttons. She moved her finger toward the penthouse and, suddenly, changed her mind. She pressed the training room button. It might be good to hit something a bit. The door opened and, surprised, she saw the brunette hitting the punching bag.

The chains tensed with each blow. Feral eyes fixed in the bag. Her anger was evident, her muscles were tensed.

She was hurting.

Every time Helena was hurt she didn't talk, she just wanted something to discharge her anger, her frustration, her sadness.

Dinah thought for a moment it would break. Helena was hitting it as if it was cotton candy. She stepped inside and slowly circled the brunette, who didn't seem to notice she was there.

After a three more rough kicks and hits, the bag collapsed, ripping down the middle. The sand fell to the floor. Helena grumbled and kicked the remains of the bag.

She put her hands on her waist and, lowering her head, she took a deep breath.

Dinah thought it was a good moment to talk with her. She moved her hair nervously behind her ear. She walked toward the brunette hesitantly. "I'm sorry, I didn't want…"

Helena remained unmoving a few seconds. It gave Dinah a bit of confidence; she walked closer. "I know how much you love your mom, I was stupid, I…"

The brunette walked toward the wall and took some batons. She threw it to the blonde.

She caught it in surprise.

"Wanna play, kid?" she asked taking another baton.

Dinah hesitated, Helena was in feral mode; she could see her eyes clearly. "Well… I…"

"Come on, let's play for a few," Helena smirked, moving the batons between her hands.

"Helena, I don't…" the blonde understood this wasn't a good idea; her partner wasn't in a good mood and a fight with her wouldn't be pleasant.

The brunette suddenly attacked her. Dinah had very good reflexes and raised the batons in time to avoid the blow.

Their faces were inches apart. "Pretty good, kid, excellent. But I guess that was just luck." Helena grinned with those feral eyes that made Dinah feel a shiver down her back.

She wasn't playing.

The young crime fighter moved back and tried to surprise the blonde with a fast movement to her ribs. Dinah blocked it too. She turned and tried to hit her again; Dinah barely stopped the next blow to her head with the stick.

"Good, good, you are improving," Helena whispered, golden eyes locked on the teen.

"Helena, stop, I think you…" The words died in the girl's throat when her partner moved incredibly fast and hit at her again. Dinah was forced to step back with the strength of the blow against her baton.

"You think she was a burglar, no?" Helena threw her another blow.

"No, I…" Dinah blocked it and moved back, but Helena followed her.

"You think she lied to me."

"No, Helena, I…"

"You didn't know my mother!" Helena used both hands to throw another hard blow. Dinah raised both arms and one of her sticks broke with the strength of the impact. One of the brunette's sticks hit her on the shoulder.

Dinah cried out and bent down, holding her shoulder.

"She never lied to me! What the hell do you two think she was?" Helena threw a baton to one side with fury. She pressed her fist and bit her lips; she didn't want to hurt the blonde, but they had touched her most vulnerable part. It was best is she shut up and don't say another word.

"Helena, I'm sorry!"

Helena covered her ears. She didn't want heard her apologize.

"I… I know how much you loved your mom and I…"

The mention of her mother made her blood boil again. "Stand up."

"Helena…"

"Stand up!" Helena demanded forcefully.

Dinah rolled on the floor to avoid another impact from the brunette. The stick hit the floor, echoing through the Tower.

The thin woman dressed in black took the baton that Dinah had left on the floor and threw it to her. "Come on, stand up." She walked around the place like a caged panther. "You didn't know her; she quit everything for me."

The blonde took the stick and stood up, trying to move her shoulder "I know, Helena, but the necklace could have been before you born…" Dinah stopped her words again to protect herself from another furious attack by the brunette. She tried to hit her, once, twice, three times, unsuccessfully.

Dinah was confused , she knew that fighting with Helena was hard, but when she was angry, the fight went all to hell. She fought like a demon. She was missing so much, usually Helena never failed.

Finally a blow from the brunette hit the blonde's side. She bent down.

"You didn't know her," Helena growled, baton in hand, "You never listened to her, you never felt her; you never talked to her." She smashed the baton roughly against the mirror in the training room, breaking it.

Frightened, Dinah stepped back.

"She spent many nights with me when I was afraid, when I was sick." The older woman closed her fingers of her right hand and squeezed them hard, "She made a big effort to change her life because she loved me." She turned and glared at the blonde. "And now… you and Barbara say…" The brunette threw the piece of stick to one side. "I don't need this. Stand up."

"Helena, no!"

"Stand up."

A fast kick surprised Dinah, throwing her back. She hit the rack holding Barbara's weapons, breaking it with a loud noise. In seconds, Helena was over her. Dinah stood up and took a stick, trying to hit Helena, but the experience of the young crime fighter was a great advantage, she ducked and took the baton with her hands, hitting Dinah's gut with it. The teen doubled over.

She felt a strong impact on her jaw. Helena hit her with the other side of the stick. Stunned, she rolled on the floor.

The brunette walked toward her and lifted her by the back of her shirt, "Say my mother is a burglar one more time!"

Before the blonde could say a word, she was crashed into the wall on the other side of the room.

"My mother never lied to me! Understand? I don't want to hear you accusing her!"

Dinah coughed and raised her head, Helena, with her fists in balls, was walking toward her. She curled up and covered her face with her hands. She was going to kill her.


	7. Chapter 7

"Helena, stop!" A hard voice echoed in the place. The brunette turned and saw Barbara standing at the elevator. She had heard the noises in the training room and had wheeled immediately toward them.

"Are you crazy? Leave her alone!" The redhead moved inside the room. She met Helena's eyes as the brunette fixed her feral golden eyes on the redhead. Eyes that would make anyone shiver and run, trying to escape; but she knew her perfectly well. She knew this young woman so well.

Dinah sighed with relief. Barbara arrived just in time. 

Great, now this. The brunette clenched her teeth and walked to pick up her coat. She didn't want to apologize.

"I'm sorry!" Barbara shouted at her, "We didn't want to insult your mother. We were just thinking of all the possibilities!"

"She didn't steal it!" Helena barked.

The cyber genius looked at the blonde, who was standing up. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm sorry, I didn't want…"

"It's okay, don't worry." Barbara wheeled to the side and took two sticks that were on the floor. "Helena!"

The brunette turned and she threw one to her. The young woman caught it and narrowed her eyes at her mentor.

"Want to fight?" Barbara asked, moving toward her. "Let's fight."

Helena smirked, shaking her head, "Please, Barbara…"

The redhead was incredibly fast and threw a blow at the young crime fighter. Helena raised her hands and blocked the stick a few inches over her head. Barbara wasn't joking. She threw another blow to her knees; she jumped to avoid it.

"Barbara, stop it!" Helena shouted, annoyed. She didn't need this. She had hurt the blonde already and it didn't make her feel much better.

"Wanna fight?" Barbara moved toward her, "Let's go, do it, do it with someone that has the experience to fight you."

Helena threw the baton to the floor, "Forget it, I don't want to hurt you."

She didn't see her mentor's hands moving, she just suddenly felt a sharp pain at her side, she bent down and other hit to her stomach knocked the air out, she fell to her knees holding her stomach.

"I said fight!" Barbara yelled.

"Barbara, no…" Dinah said, but the red head raised her hand to stop her.

"Stay out of this, Dinah!"

"It's my fault I'm sorry."

"No! I thought for a moment about the possibility of Selina stealing the necklace."

Helena grumbled in annoyance and raised her head, still holding her gut. That blow really knocked her off. Barbara was crazy or she was trusting her luck too much… and in the love that she knew Helena felt for her.

"I did it," Barbara continued, "I'm sorry, Helena, but I thought for a second she was a burglar."

"She didn't do it! Shut up!" Helena stood up abruptly and, taking the stick from the floor, she charged against the redhead, who blocked the impact easily.

Dinah moved back to the wall, scared. She had never seen Helena so pissed; that last blow could kill anyone easily.

"Your mother was a burglar, Helena." Barbara swung her stick against the brunette. "But she changed because of you. She did it!"

Helena blocked the stick and pressed herself against it to move her face near Barbara. "Yes, she did it. You know it, why did you say…?"

"Helena, we were considering all the possibilities," Barbara interrupted "it doesn't mean we think she broke the promise that she made to you." She pushed her back.

The brunette circled her mentor. Moving the stick from one side to another, thinking. Barbara followed her with her gaze.

Dinah was scared. Helena would kill Barbara, she wasn't playing. The tension in her muscles was evident, her gaze, like a predator hunger for a kill.

"We didn't mean to insult your mom or hurt you," Barbara whispered.

"You did it… you said it… She trusted you, she opened her life to you, she told you everything…" Helena clenched her teeth and tried to hit her with her stick, Barbara moved quickly and the piece of wood hit against the side of the chair; Barbara used her stick to push Helena back and tried to hit her; Helena blocked the blow.

"I said it," the redhead confirmed, "I accept it and I apologize."  
The brunette growled. "She trusted you… she asked you to take care of me… How could you betray her memory thinking…?"

Barbara attacked her again. Helena stopped the blow and charged against her. The redhead had to release the break of the chair and move back to block her protégé's attack. Dinah began to think about how to stop her, she didn't want to see Barbara or Helena hurt. Her mentor was an incredible fighter, but Helena was meta, and her strength was inhuman.

"I would never hurt you intentionally!" Barbara shouted back, "I would never insult your mother, Helena, please! I know how much she means to you!"

"Not true!" Helena's stick broke against the back of chair, Barbara ducked her head in time.

Dinah, scared, raised her hand and the brunette was pushed back against a rack of weapons.

"Dinah, no!" Barbara shouted.

The furniture broke into pieces with the strength of the impact. The brunette covered her head and fell to the floor as the pieces rained on her.

"I'm sorry. She was going to hit you!" the blonde said fearfully, she didn't want to hurt Helena.

"No, she wasn't," Barbara said. "Stay calm."

Helena grumbled and rested on her elbows shaking her head. Damn kid. Suddenly, she felt long fingers on her back. She growled, moving back.

"I'm sorry, Helena. Dinah didn't mean to…" Barbara apologized.

"Leave me alone." The young woman stood up.

"You scared her!" The redhead exhaled. "Helena, please stop this; we need to talk."

"I don't want to talk!" Helena picked up her coat from the other side of the training room.

"This is all a misunderstanding." Barbara tried to take her arm, but Helena pulled away.

"I understood perfectly well," the young woman said.

"Helena, please…" the redhead pleaded, following her to the elevator.

Dinah crossed her arms in shame and followed her, "Helena, I'm sorry. I didn't…"

Helena rested her back on the elevator. "But you did." The doors closed.

The two women looked at the elevator for a long minute in silence. Dinah lowered her head, she felt guilty; they were her family and she had caused a big fight. They were so close.

She had hurt Helena, she had caused a fight between her and Barbara... first because she called her mother a burglar. Helena was ready to beat her, if the redhead hadn't appeared she would have done it; she had faced the wild young woman to protect her. She had caused a fight and, for a moment, she thought her partner would hurt the redhead seriously.

A tear rolled down her cheek. "I'm sorry, I came up here because I wanted to train and I didn't expect to see her here…" The teen felt sick, she knew how much Barbara and Helena loved each other; she knew how much Helena loved her mother and now she had caused big trouble between them; her and her big mouth.

The older woman noticed the pain in the young girl's eyes. She wheeled toward her and stopping in front of her, she reached her arms out. "Come here…"

The blonde immediately fell into the embrace, crying. "I'm sorry, Barbara."

"I told you not to follow her," Barbara whispered brushing her hair. "I know her." She knew she needed try to get Helena out of her shell to talk with her. She was hurt and so was her pride. "It's okay. I'll talk to her when she calms down."

"I made you two fight. We hurt her, I didn't want to hurt her." The young girl buried her face in the redhead's neck.

"I know, Dinah. She knows it too. She just loses control when it's about her mom, but when she calms down, she will understand that we didn't intentionally hurt her."

"I thought for a moment she was going to hit you…"

Barbara moved back and brushed blonde hair. "She would never hit me."

The blonde looked into lovely green eyes. "She was going to hit you, I was so afraid. I have never seen her so angry," she said, almost in a whisper.

Barbara smiled gently and cupped her cheeks with her hands. "Dinah, Helena would never hurt me. She might be pissed or angry, but she would never do it. She would prefer to die before hurting me and I'd do the same."

Dinah blinked. "But…"

"I know her. I trust her as she trusts me."

"She is angry now."

Barbara laughed softly. "And when isn't she?"

Dinah smiled shyly. The bond between the women was strong, so strong that maybe she would never understand it. Barbara was speaking the truth, Helena was a wild cat, but she turned into a house kitten in Barbara's hands. The cyber genius had cared for her since she was a kid, feeding her, listening to her, loving her… She was the only person that Helena let inside her personal space, touch the depths of her heart. She sighed and hugged her mentor. "I love you."

"I love you too, Dinah."

Barbara had taken care of Helena, as she did with her now. She had given her a home, a place, a family, she owed her. And she wasn't going to fail her.


	8. Chapter 8

Helena sat on the edge of a building, holding her knees against her chest. Her eyes were lost in the bright lights below her. The city was alive, breathing. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, feeling the cold wind across her cheeks.

Shit, she had been so rough with the blonde. She had outdone herself, but it was hard to contain herself when the topic was her mother. Barbara had lectured her so many times about control. Control.

The yoga and Zen thing were a crock. It didn't help her. Lost time. She told the redhead that after she spent more than three months teaching her, but she had insisted.

A good fight worked much better and Barbara knew it. She could intimidate anyone except her. Babs was a good fighter, she couldn't avoid smiling to herself. She was damn good. She had made her sweat.

Barbara.

She disconcerted her many times, her analytical mind was so rigid sometimes that it didn't allow her to understand the feelings of the people. Her mother had quit everything for her. She had talked about it so many times with the redhead, Selina had proved it and helped Barbara solve crimes afterwards.. The own Barbara had told it to her.

It pissed her off that Barbara would think, even for a moment, that her mother had stolen that necklace. But the worst part was that she knew that Barbara was afraid of her too.

Barbara had trained her, taught her… everything she was now was because of Barbara. But she had hesitated. ,She accepted it, she had a dark side, and her character was a bit difficult…

Well, very difficult.

Whatever.

:Helena: the soft voice of her mentor interrupted her thoughts. The brunette sighed. :I know you are listening to me, we need to talk.:

The young crime fighter remained silent.

:I know I hurt you, I'm sorry, I didn't mean your mother…:

"Don't talk about her!" abruptly Helena interrupted her mentor clenching her jaw. It didn't matter that it had been a long time. Talking about like her mother was like touching an open wound that never closed.

:Helena, you are misunderstanding us! And you hurt Dinah! We were thinking about possibilities, we were analyzing facts; there are many unknown things about your mother's past…:

The brunette stood up, abruptly. "You thought it! You thought she stole it! How could you…?" Her knuckles turned white as she clenched her fists. The brunette could clearly hear a deep breath, she could almost visualize Barbara touching her nose.

:Helena, calm down…:

"I trusted her, her word, she quit everything for me! And now you are…" The brunette lowered her voice. "She trusted you, Barbara… But I can see you never trusted her… or me…"

Her words disconcerted the red head. :What:

Helena lowered her head and bit her lower lip, a nervous tick that she always had. "You have always been scared of me, that I would be a burglar like her, that my "nature" would drive me to follow in her steps…"

Barbara kept silence; she wasn't lying, but… she had hid it from her, how could she…?

"Alfred told me…" Helena sighed, "about that talk you two had when I was investigating the Animal Gang."

At the Clock Tower, Barbara closed her eyes and covered them with her hand. Her mind traveled months back, she was in the gym, talking with Alfred.

"_Honestly ... I think Helena and Reese are going to kill each other." She said to her loyal butler "The more frustrated she gets, the more tempted she is to have a little too much fun in the underworld."_

_The old man followed her with his gaze "The vigilante working with the policeman? Never an easy alliance. Certainly Master Bruce had his disagreements with your father."_

"_Ah, you see, Batman and Commissioner Gordon -- that was a team. I just don't know if Helena and Reese are going to be able to work together like that."_

"_Hmm, their differences are great."_

"_She's part Batman, but she's part Catwoman as well."_

"_I've always found it interesting that the woman Master Bruce chose as his greatest love -- that part of him was lured, seduced, by her lawlessness."_

"_You think it runs in the family?"_

"_The appeal of life outside the law?... Always." Alfred sighed enigmatically. "She is her father's daughter, after all."_

The young crime fighter looked down at the street. The silence at the other side of the line confirmed that Barbara had doubts about her. She put her hands in her pockets and lowered her head. It hurt her, to know that Barbara could think she would fail her. "If you don't trust me… I don't know what are we doing working together." She turned off the mic and jumped off the building.

----------------------------

"Helena…" The sound of the mic being shut off echoed in her ears. Frustrated, the redhead put her elbows on her desk and covered her face with her hands, "Damn…"

On the upper level, Dinah observed the scene in silence. She felt guilty, she hadn't heard her mentor. Everything had been her fault. She lowered her head and walked toward the elevator without Barbara noticing.

----------------------------

The brunette lay on her back with her arms crossed behind her head, looking at the stars. She couldn't sleep, that discussion about her mother with Barbara had put her in a bad mood, not that she slept much at night anyway.

Barbara knew her better than anyone. She sat on the cornice, her mind went back months ago. She was digging in the back of the lower cabinet looking for a pop-tart. Barbara appeared in her robe, suddenly, turning on the lights.

"_What are you doing?" Barbara asked, glaring at her._

"_Looking for a pop-tart. What are you doing up?" She turned to keep looking inside the cabinet._

"_I thought you said you'd be here for dinner."_

"_I had to go blow off some steam, so I went out with the guys."_

"_The "guys" ..." Barbara sighed, "as in the criminals we're in the middle of pursuing and trying to put away."_

"_Yeah, them." Helena found the box of pop tarts and stood up. "I found something out. Something serious. There's a big boss taking all the profits from the animal gang. They're just foot soldiers. Sound familiar?"_

"_Do you think this could be the woman that we've been looking for?"_

"_Seems like a real possibility." The brunette walked over to the refrigerator, "... cash-heavy crimes, mysterious unseen boss, big and conveniently vague master plan." She opened a bottle of milk. "It's got to be her." She took a sip of the milk._

"_Do you think the gang could lead us to her?" the redhead frowned._

"_Yeah, I do, so I lied to Reese. Didn't tell him about the next target. I mean, if he arrests them now, then we lose our chance to follow them to the boss."_

_Barbara didn't appear to like the plan, "…And you think that's a good idea."_

"_What's the big deal?"_

"_So it takes the man a little bit longer to get arrested."_

"_They're not all that dangerous," Helena explained._

"_And you're basing this on, what? How much fun they are to party with?" Barbara said, unable to hide her annoyance._

"_They're harmless. All they do is steal from rich people that blow their money on raw fish. No one gets hurt."_

"_You're defending them."_

"_We're not that different. We all live outside the law. At least they have fun. And Reese makes everything so dire. Why does crime-fighting have to be so serious?"_

"_It's not serious. I mean -- I mean, it is serious, but it's not –"the red head muttered, trying to explain herself._

Helena sighed. The last words of Barbara echoed inside her head, _"You're defending them."_ Was Barbara thinking really she could…?

"Helena…"

"Shit!" The brunette jumped in her place and turned, crouching over the edge. She was so lost in her thoughts that she had been caught.

Dinah was standing there.

"Damn." The brunette growled lowering her head, pissed that she'd been surprised.

"I didn't mean to…"

"What are you doing here?" Helena glared at her.

"I was looking for you."

The brunette crossed her arms and raised her brow, "Barbara sent you? I don't wanna talk."

Dinah walked toward her "No…" She showed her neck, "No comms."

"What do you want?"

"I feel bad because I caused a fight between you two, it wasn't her fault. I was the one..." Dinah noticed Helena's eyes change to feral. The young woman jumped on her. "No, Hel…"


	9. Chapter 9

Both fell to the ground. Dinah fell a rush of wind over them. Helena stood up immediately and turned in a defensive position. "Stay back, kid," She mumbled.

Dinah rose on her elbows and looked, stunned, at a woman with the face of a big cat, in front of them. Helena had pushed her down so that the strange creature wouldn't land on her. She had seen the pictures. It was Cheetah, she was really a freak.

"I was looking for you." Cheetah grinned.

"You could look in the yellow pages."

"Where is the necklace?"

"Still with that? You are stubborn."

Cheetah whipped her tail and tried to hit the brunette, who jumped to avoid it. She turned in the air and hit the woman with her feet, making her fall.

Cheetah tried to hit her again, but Huntress ducked and punched her stomach. A fist hit on the brunette hard; she stepped back. Cheetah turned and kicked her back. With her tail, she took a piece of wood and aimed it toward the brunette.

The blonde raised her hand and pushed her back, "No!"

Cheetah hit the wall. She growled and glared at her, "Who the hell are you?"

"She's one of the good guys," Helena said. "You didn't like that?"

"You are dead."

"I don't think so," Helena attacked her, but Cheetah stopped her blows. She tried to scratch her, but the brunette ducked and kicked her.

Cheetah tried to scratch her again, but only ripped her long black jacket. Annoyed, Helena glared at her. "Do you have any idea how expensive this is?"

"Last chance, give me the necklace or I'll kill you."

"Take a number."

Cheetah raised her hand to scratch her and the brunette stopped her wrist with her hands; the woman growled, annoyed, trying to free herself, both struggled and Huntress suddenly felt her back crashing forcefully against a gas tank. It bent with the strength of the impact, but the brunette didn't release her.

"Jezzz, you have to do something about that breath: Don't you brush?" She winced, feeling the wild woman's breath near her face. Cheetah was really strong, and she was annoyed, which made her most dangerous. The crime fighter used her knee to push Cheetah back, but she didn't move. Cheetah moved her hand slowly, fighting against the grip of the brunette. The claws were inches from her face.

Dinah used her TK and pulled Cheetah back.

Huntress caught her breath, that had been close. "Thanks kid."

"Pleasure."

"I'm tired of these games!" Cheeta stood up, grunting.

"Fine, me too." Huntress jumped and kicked her back.

Both women began to exchange blows; Huntress was quick, but so was Cheetah. Using her tail, she used it to wrap Huntress' feet and throw her to the ground. The movement surprised the brunette.

Dinah ran and jumped on the villainess when she saw her raising her claws to hurt Huntress. She put her arm around her neck. Cheetah moved her hands up and scratched the blonde.

Dinah felt her jaw stick, her body numb. Cheetah, knowing she was poisoned, took her by her arm and pushed her back. "Stupid girl!"

The blonde stumbled against the cornice and fell backwards.

"Dinah!" Huntress ran, trying to grab her; the building was more than five stories high, she couldn't survive the fall. Cheetah stopped her, taking her by her arm and punching her hard in the face. Angry, the brunette charged against the criminal with several hard blows and kicks. Cheetah jumped over her and, holding her by her waist, pushed her back making her crash against the brick wall.

Strong hands picked her up by her lapel. "I'm sorry for your blonde friend; but don't worry, death comes quickly in high falls. Did you think you could defeat me so easily? Now I've got you and you will give me what I want."

The crime fighter punched Cheetah hard on her jaw, she attacked her without thinking. The woman stepped back, the strength of the brunette was incredible. She raised her hands trying to protect herself from the blows. Strong knuckles crashed against her face breaking her lips.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Drops of water fell on the blonde girl. She opened her eyes slowly and tried to recognize where she was. Trash bags surrounded her. She looked up. She remembered closing her eyes. She had fallen of the building and she would be dead if she hadn't used her TK powers to try to stop her fall and if an awning hadn't helped slow her descent. The landing in the trash container had been hard.

She didn't know how long she had been unconscious.

Where was she?

After a few seconds of confusion, she noticed she was lying on garbage, black bags surrounded her. She tried to move, but she couldn't. All her body hurt, but she couldn't move; maybe she had broken some bones, she wasn't as flexible as Huntress.

Her lips were dry and she felt warmth on the right side of her face.

Water?... No, blood…

Everything suddenly came to her mind; Cheetah, in some way she had drugged her.

A light blinded her. She tried to move again, but her body didn't respond. She heard the door of a car opening and noises echoing far in the distance. She closed her eyes.

Huntress?

Where was she?

The last thing she remembered was that Cheetah and then, the world stopped and she felt like she falling into a deep hole.

"Dinah." She heard her name, but she couldn't recognize the voice. She opened her eyes and found the redhead next to her.

"I didn't want to move her." She heard another female voice.

"You did okay… Dinah?" The redhead took her cheeks softly.

Barbara shivered, seeing the pale look of the teen; it seemed as if she was lost. The redhead raised her head and saw the broken awning; the building was three floors - a high distance for her, she didn't have Huntress' abilities and was lucky she wasn't dead, thanks to the garbage bags and the awning. She was worried, maybe the girl was seriously injured, but she wouldn't know if she didn't check her first. Helena had done well not moving her. Maybe she had hurt her back, it was best was keep her immobilized. She brushed some hair off the girl's face and took out her scanner.

"Helena, bring me the neck brace," she said, moving the scanner over the girl, "it's in the back of the Hummer; I have a backboard, as well, bring it."

The brunette called the redhead after finding Dinah in the alley; Cheetah had run away and Helena had jumped down immediately to look for her; it was a miracle, she was alive; but she could hurt her more if she moved her. The fall had been high. Helena's call had surprised Barbara, first, because Helena was annoyed and, second, she thought the blonde was sleeping.

Surely, she had walked out against Barbara's advice to look for Huntress, but… she needed focus her mind on the important in that moment: Dinah. She finished the scan and pressed a button to check the images.

Dinah grunted, feeling a sharp pain in her back. The redhead leaned down and touched her face gently. "It's okay, don't worry. I checked you, looks as if you just broke your arm. But I want to check you carefully. I'm going to immobilize it now and your neck too, okay?"

The teen couldn't say anything. She just closed her eyes.

Barbara, concerned, instructed Helena, who arrived at that moment. "I need to immobilize her arm. The neck brace first and then we will move her onto the backboard."

---------------------------------------------------

The redhead moved back from the monitors. She pressed some keys at her computer and her gaze moved for a second toward the lab. Dinah was lying on the med table. It was a miracle she was alive with just some cuts and bruises. She had broken her arm, but the thing most worried her was the hard contusion on her head and her high temperature.

Helena followed all of her mentor's movements with a worried gaze, standing up behind her; the brunette cleaned small drops of sweat from the her forehead with her hand.

Dinah had came back to consciousness for few minutes, but she couldn't move or talk. A beep made her turn her head, as Barbara, who moved toward a test tube at the other side of the table; moving her glasses up her nose, she read the screen.

"How is she?" Helena asked.

The redhead didn't answer, but concentrated on the monitor.

"Everything is okay, Miss Barbara?" Alfred asked, walking inside the lab.

After long seconds of silence, she finally spoke, "It's a virus…"

"Excuse me?" Helena frowned.

"Dinah," the redhead turned to look at them with concern, "Is a virus attacking her meta cells… Helena, what happened? Did Cheetah throw something at her?"

"No… but… she scratched her," Helena remembered, "Her arm… Maybe her claws…"

Barbara examined the wound, "I never heard anything about Cheetah's claws being poisoned… I don't think…"

"That was the only physical contact Dinah had with her," Helena insisted, "That must be it, I fought with her and I'm okay. She was looking for me, she told me… she was thinking about defeating me and maybe she poisoned her claws to do it. "

Alfred noticed Helena kept her left hand behind her coat holding her right side; she was sweating so much. He looked inside his pocket and extended her a handkerchief; she looked at it a few seconds and took it to clean her forehead. "Thanks…" she mumbled to him.

Barbara rubbed her chin "It makes sense, Helena, but we need know for certain."

"I'll find her, Barbara," the brunette said.

"You need to hurry. Dinah's temperature is increasing. I'm trying to lower it, but… the drug is acting like a virus."

"What?" Helena moved her hand and cleaned the sweat off her eyes. Alfred kept an eye on her.

"This virus is like an infection…" Barbara explained to her "it's attacking her meta cells… destroying them. But I can't make an antidote, unless we know what virus is… before it kills her." She turned and wheeled toward the elevator.

"All right…" Helena gave Alfred his handkerchief "Thanks, I'll go look for Cheeta now."

Helena and Alfred turned at the same time, and he hit her side lightly by "accident", the brunette winced and bent slightly holding her side. He frowned.

"I'm okay…" she said hurriedly.

He took her by her arm and raised her coat to a side. Maybe the movement would cause anyone to receive a hard punch, but not him. She respected him. The old butler noticed Helena had a big scratch on her side.


	10. Chapter 10

Helena and Alfred turned at the same time, and he hit her side lightly by "accident", the brunette winced and bent slightly holding her side. He frowned.

"I'm okay…" she said hurriedly.

He took her by her arm and raised her coat to a side. Maybe the movement would cause anyone to receive a hard punch, but not him. She respected him. The old butler noticed Helena had a big scratch on her side. He was going to speak, but the brunette put her fingers over his lips.

"No," she whispered to him, turning to see Barbara, luckily the elevator doors were closing "please, don't say a word, I don't want to worry her."

"But…" he covered her hand with his, "you are burning up."

"Alfred, we don't have time… I need to find her."

"Miss Helena, you are poisoned too. She scratched you too," he said, worried.

"I'm half meta, maybe for that reason the drug hasn't affected me the same as Dinah. I'm half human, remember? We have an opportunity, if I stay, who would catch Cheetah? Dinah will die. We need to know what virus she used. I'm feeling okay, just a bit warm."

"But…"

"Alfred, I can't stay, you know it. Please…"

"Cheetah is a very dangerous opponent. You know her."

"It's Dinah's life, we don't have time."

"It's your life too."

"We don't know how the drug works, we need to know what she used. The only way to know is to catch her." Helena squeezed his hand.

The old man nodded, "All right, just give me five minutes to bandage your side."

"Alfred…" Helena sighed.

"Five minutes…"

"Not a minute more…"

"All right."

------------------------------------------------

The brunette landed on her feet. She had been looking for Cheetah for over three hours, unsuccessfully. She was at the New Gotham Bay, near the dockyards. She kneeled on the ground holding her side. She felt terribly sick, but she couldn't stop. Whatever Cheetah had on her claws was starting to affect her. She was shivering and sweating cold. Her immune system was good, but she didn't know how long it would protect her successfully.

She put her hand over her ear. "Oracle, do you copy?"

:I'm here, Huntress.:

"How is she?"

:Stable, but still unconscious. I discovered low temperatures stop the advance of the virus. How goes it:

"I haven't found her yet." The brunette moved her hand, she noticed her reflexes were slowing; not good, "I asked three guys nicely; one of them told me he'd heard about a woman like that being seen frequently here at the dockyards."

:That is similar to the latest information I have from the New Gotham Police; a big panther was seen half an hour ago near the bay.:

"So I'm close… cough." Huntress stood up and looked around, everything was spinning, she kneeled again, supporting herself with a hand on the ground "shit…"

:Something wrong, Huntress:

"It's cold here… cough… the night is always colder near the bay…" The brunette felt something strange. A strange tingling moved through her body. The damn thing was seriously affecting her.

:Are you cold:

"I need to wear long sleeves at nights," the brunette joked trying to prevent the redhead from figuring out that she was sick too, "but that is worse than wearing a mask."

:Huntress, the dockyards connect to a small hill, I checked the maps… there are some caves there, why don't you check them:

The brunette took a deep breath and stood up, "All right, tell me where…."

------------------------------------

Barbara Gordon was one of the most fascinating and incredible crime-fighters he had known, she was many contradictory things at the same time, sweet and strong, soft but hard. Her kindness and intelligence were extraordinary. She was the most compete hero he could think of. She had defeated the most dangerous criminals, and her worst enemy: her own limitations.

Helena, like Barbara, was a brave woman, beautiful and smart, but while Barbara was a cold minded hero, Helena let her feelings rule her life. After her mother's death she turned dark and resentful. Barbara had saved her in many ways. Helena had been on the edge many times and the redhead always stopped her. She liked for people to think that nothing and no one mattered to her.

But she loved her family, much more than she was capable of accepting. She would die for them without a second thought.

Like in this moment, she only was focused on saving Dinah's life. He heard her coughing and he didn't like it. He heard the redhead guiding her toward the hill, in the forest toward the caverns. He was praying that Cheetah wouldn't appear. Huntress wasn't in any condition to fight if the drug was running through her veins.

:Cough, I found her place…:

"Be careful." The redhead narrowed her eyes and was silent, "Huntress, are sure you are all right? Your breathing sounds… labored…"

Alfred swallowed and moved back.

:Well, yours would too, if you were here… smells awful…:

Barbara typed at her keyboard, her instinct told her something was wrong… And her sixth sense never failed. She waited patiently in silence waiting for Huntress to check the place. After long minutes, she finally heard her protégée's voice.

:She's not here…:

"Thank God," Alfred couldn't stop himself from saying.

Barbara took a deep breath, he knew something. "What do you see, Huntress?"

:I'm checking…:

The redhead turned to look at her loyal friend and raised her brow, "Is there something you want to tell me?"

-------------------------------------------------------------------

The brunette walked inside the place, she coughed, she felt cold. The damn virus was strong. The cave was small. Her night vision was helpful, she didn't need to take a flashlight in her pockets; the woman wasn't there, that was good, she didn't feel well enough to fight. Inside, there was old furniture, and some minor items. On the table, she found a small jar and cotton. She looked at the small glass container, inside there was a green liquid. The same green color as the cotton.

Her head spun; she supported herself on the desk to avoid falling.

"Alfred, why didn't you tell me?"

He took a deep breath. "Sorry, Miss Barbara, but would you do? Stop her? You know her, I didn't want to worry you."

"Why didn't you tell me? She will be lost if Cheetah finds her there." She turned and took the mic. "Helena, why didn't you tell me Cheetah scratched you, too? Get out of there, she could return at any moment."

:I'm okay.: Helena said.

"Get out of there."

:I think I found it Oracle…:

The redhead sighed, rubbing her eyes "Are you sure?"

:Yea, I found it…:

"Excellent… Bring it immediately, get out of there now."

:On my way.:

"I'm sorry, Miss Barbara," Alfred said trying to apologyze.

Barbara looked at him gently and took her hand "Don't worry. You are right, no one could stop her."

"Father's daughter."

"Yes."

"I'll keep an eye on Miss Dinah."

"All right. I'll bring Huntress back."

-------------------------------------------------

An open book on a table caught her attention.

She looked at the page to which it was opened… she frowned and leaned over, it was a drawing of her mother's necklace… but there wasn't one…there were four, and circled in a strange paint. She cocked her head and examined it. Her mother was an antiques expert and she had taught her to recognize a fake and an original ancient object. This was an original manuscript.

"Oracle, I found something…. cough"

:What is it:

"An ancient book, Egyptian… Maybe 3000 B.C…."

The skill of her protégée never ceased to amaze the redhead, Helena was a very smart young woman, culturally knowledgeable thanks to Selina.

"Mom's necklace is pictured here, but there's not just one… cough.. there are four…"

:Four?... Maybe this is the clue that will help me figure out why Cheeta wants it…:

Huntress moved her hand over the hieroglyphics "…Victory Palette of King Narmer… 3200BC… that's the same thing that the woman told me at the bar…" she turned the page… "This is like some kind of… legend about using the four necklaces to do something…"

:Bring it with you, now get out of there… :

------------------------------

Barbara typed at the keyboard as the light that signaled Huntress' location was moving toward the dockyards again. It would take her twenty minutes to get back to the Cocktower. She heard her protégée cough again and looked at the screen, worried, her signal was stationary "Huntress, are you okay?"

:Yes…:

"How do you feel?"

:A bit warm… but I'm okay. How is she:

"Stable now… We controlled the virus with the temperature… Alfred is with her now."

:Good.:

"I'll pick you up at Jameson street."

Huntress jumped to the next building, but she couldn't land on her feet and hit the ground roughly. She felt terribly sick.

:Huntress? What happened: Barbara heard the sound of her hitting the ground.

The young woman coughed, resting her head on the cold ground. She coughed. The sound of Oracle's voice was distant.

:Huntress…:

"I feel sick…" The brunette rolled to her side and closed her eyes, her mouth felt dry.

:I'll pick you up…:

"No…" the girl mumbled, trying to stand up, "just give me a second…"

Suddenly, a loud growl echoed and Huntress lifted her eyes to see a shadow falling over her.


	11. Chapter 11

Huntress rolled to avoid the hard impact. She crouched and saw Cheetah grinning at her. The woman jumped at her. Her fist smashed roughly into Cheetah's jaw and she moved back. But the feline was faster and turned, kicking Huntress in her gut. She tried to hit her again, but Huntress stopped her hand in mid air.

"You are pretty strong…" the woman grinned, "…but not enough for my drug..." the brunette couldn't move fast enough and Cheetah crashed her fist into the brunette's face. A second later, there was a blow to the back of her head. She saw stars and fell heavily to the ground. Her ears buzzed.

--Huntress, what's happening?-- Oracle asked, hearing the noises in her mic.

Strong hands picked Huntress up by her lapel, and hit her back against the wall. Cheetah growled. "I think I hurt you a few hours ago… here.." She punched her in her side, the young crime fighter cried in pain and bent over; "You are sick… I can see, I poisoned my claws with a fantastic substance, do you feel it running through your body? It is fantastic, I love it."

The brunette flew over the rooftop and her back broke the door of the stairway. She growled, feeling the lock crash against her back. She curled up and bit her lips trying to endure the pain.

--Huntress, is Cheetah there? Get out of there! Don't fight!-- Oracle yelled over the mic.

She would do it, if she could, Huntress thought to herself.

"I'm sorry for your blonde friend," Cheetah said, walking toward her, "but don't worry, death comes quickly in high falls. Did you think you could defeat me so easily? Now I've got you and you will give me what I want."

"Bitch..." Huntress tried to stand up.

"You are mine." Cheetah circled her, "Now, tell me… Where is my necklace?"

"Fuck you…" the brunette grumbled.

"I don't like games, I'm tired of them. Your mother stole the necklace from me and I'm not going to let you do it again. I need it…"

The young ward of Oracle moved restlessly on the ground, her mind was confused, she tried to organize her thoughts, but before she could do it, she felt the woman lift her again by her neck. Then came a hard kick with her knee to her gut and her fist crashing against her jaw. She collided against the wall.

"I want it, it gives power!" Cheetah shouted. "The necklace is a Talisman that, when put together with the other three pieces, gives you power, infinite power… I'm going to ask you one last time… Where is the necklace?"

"No way… freak…" Golden eyes buried angrily on the woman.

"If you choose to die, it will be a pleasure to do it…"

Huntress felt a tail around her neck and gasped.

"Tell me… Where is the necklace?"

The brunette growled, trying to take air into her lungs, and the woman increased her grip around her throat. "You want die as your young friend did, eh?"

Blue eyes fluttered, trying to stay, open. Cheetah slammed her back against the wall and her head hit it; the impact knocked the little air she had out of her lungs. She coughed. Damn, crazy, big cat, she was using her as a punching bag.

The feeling of strong claws burying in her wounded side made her cry.

Shit. Shit. That hurt.

"Tell me where the necklace is… or I'll kill you." Cheetah hissed furiously.

She couldn't answer, the pain was killing her. Maybe that crazy woman didn't understand that it was impossible to talk when sharp claws were imbedded in her side.

"You love to be punished, I see." The brunette blinked, trying to remain conscious. Cheetah's fist buried in her gut. She flew through the air with such force that her body broke a brick wall.

The last thing the brunette felt was the metallic taste of blood in her mouth. Everything turned black. She slipped heavily to the ground, unconscious.

Cheetah took her by her neck with her claws. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her arm and moved back. As soon as she did it, another knife hit the wall next to her head. The woman rolled on the ground and another knife hit near her and then another. She ran and jumped to the next building to avoid being injured by the unseen attacker.

As soon as she landed on the rooftop, more knives began to impact near her. She ran to the edge and jumped down.

After a few seconds, a dark figure appeared and walked toward the unmoving brunette lying on the ground. She turned her over with her feet.

The woman kneeled and examined her, she had a pretty bad wound in her side –Cheetah's claws- her lip was split, a thin trial of blood ran down her cheek from a cut on her head; her clothes were covered in dust and torn. She kneeled next to her and touched her neck looking for pulse.

She was still alive.

That was good.

She raised her arm and put it around her neck; she lifted the brunette, holding her by her waist.

Wow. She was thin, but heavy. Slowly, she began to drag her to the stairway.

She needed to hurry before Cheetah appeared again.

----------------------------

"She is not here." The red head said, concerned. With her escrima sticks in her hands, her eyes searched for anything that would give her a clue about what had happened to Huntress. She had moved as fast as she could and drove to where Huntress' signal was last transmitted.

She kneeled on the floor.

Alfred wasn't happy that Barbara was using the transponder, but this time, he stayed silent; both of them knew Helena was in trouble. From what they heard the fight sounded bad, Helena wasn't making jokes as usual. She never usually complained and she had cried out during the battle; which wasn't a very good sign. The silence on the comm. Thereafter terrified Barbara.

The signal disappeared a few seconds after; she thought it was just a momentary break in reception but she was wrong, the piece wasn't there. She walked towards a brick wall, it was cracked, she felt a shiver go down her back. "It sounded bad…" she mumbled referring to the fight, "hard… but she is not here."

--Do you think Cheeta kidnapped her?-- Alfred asked.

"Yes… I don't see any other explanation." Something on the floor called her attention, she walked closer and saw a small jar on the floor.

--Do you have any clue where she could took her?--

"No, not yet… But she wants the necklace. She is not going to kill her until she has the necklace… that gives us time." The red head kneeled and picked it up. It was filled with a green liquid. As Helena had described it. It was the poison, it had fallen out of her pocket during the fight, "Huntress dropped the poison." She looked around, "Must be while they were fighting."

--We need to find her…--

"Yes, she is sick, she needs the antidote too, I can work on it."

--How are you going to locate her?--

"I'm sure Cheeta will appear alone." Barbara stood up and walked towards the emergency staircase.

--------------------------------------------------

The woman felt the girl's cheek, she was still burning. She had been unconscious for hours. Something was wrong. She put a cold cloth over her forehead, she had changed it several times in the last hour.

After changing the cloth she sat on a chair next to the bed and opened the paper that she had found inside the pocket of her coat, it was an old page, ancient one with strange hieroglyphics.

Cheeta was looking for Helena; she had something of interest that may be of value for her. And the one woman who might be able to provide the clue she was looking for was Barbara Gordon. Her plan wasn't to kidnap her but the opportunity had simply appeared. She saw the two women fighting, one looked like a black panther and Helena; clearly the other woman was winning the battle. She planned on using Helena as blackmail against Barbara. She managed to stop the woman before she could kill Helena, she then wondered why Helena had been so easily defeated, it was only when she touched the skin of Helena's unconscious form did she realize.

She was sick.

She had been following the red head for weeks, at school. Helena almost caught her with her sense, luckily she was fast enough to avoid being caught. She stood up and checked the rope which was restraining the younger woman's wrists and ankles. It seemed be enough to keep her still.

She picked up her mobile and dialed a number.

"Barbara Gordon?... She isn't there?... All right… I'll call her in ten minutes, tell her that if she wants see Helena alive again, she must be there on time." She moved the phone away from her ear and pressed the 'off' button.

Well, after that short message she was sure the woman would be there on time.

The brunette coughed and moved restlessly on the mattress. "Dinah…." She mumbled, the cloth fell of her forehead when she turned her head to the side.

The woman leaned over her and put the cloth again on her, "It's okay, it's okay…" she mumbled. "Now sleep."

Eye slides opened lightly. She felt confused and terribly sick.

A woman was sitting next to her. She moved back instinctively… where was she?...

A hand stopped her abrupt movement, "Easy big girl..."

The brunette blinked and looked her, stunned, "Sandy…?"


	12. Chapter 12

Barbara closed the Hummer door. She rested her head on the back seat and closed her eyes a few seconds then moved her hands down to turn off the transponder. Still hurt like hell. She needed to make more adaptations to it. She removed it carefully and put it on the passenger seat. She closed her eyes again and rested her head on the wheel; she just needed a few seconds to recover.

--Miss Barbara, we have a situation here…-- she heard Alfred's voice on the mic.

"What situation Alfred?."

--I got a phone call. I taped it--.

She moved back and put the car in drive. Alfred played the recording; surprised, she stopped the Hummer. When the narration finished, she asked, almost stunned, "Is that Cheetah?"

--It should be, Miss Barbara, who else? She called a few minutes ago.--

"How could she know our phone number?"

--I don't have any idea.--

"If she calls again, send the call to my mobile. Use Delphi. I'm moving." She pressed the accelerator button with her hand.

------------------------------

"You?... " Helena tried to stand up but found her senses were totally numb; it was like being drunk. Her arms felt heavy and her hands were tied behind her back.

"Careful…" Sandy stood up, pointing at her with a Chinese star, "you will be dead before you break that chain."

"What... do you want now?"

"You know... Barbara."

Helena coughed. "You can't..:"

"I can. She killed my sister, eye for an eye.. remember?" Shiva wet the cloth in the cold water.

"You're wrong..."

"We'll talk later." Sandy sat on the mattress and wiped Helena forehead, "You're burning up, girl. You're sick. You should be in bed, not out on the streets."

"Sandy..." the brunette mumbled.

Suddenly, the door broke with a loud noise, the oriental woman covered her face and stepped back. A growl echoed in the room.

"She's mine…" Cheetah growled. She'd followed the other woman after the stranger had stopped her from attacking, on the rooftop.

"Yours? Sorry, my dear…" Shiva tried to throw a Chinese star at Cheetah, but the woman grabbed her wrist with her tail and pushed her against the wall.

"Great…" the brunette mumbled to herself, trying to break the chains that bound her; but they held. The women were taking their time fighting. She made a greater effort and pulled harder, unsucessfully.

"I'll kill you!" Cheetah grunted, sending Shiva against the wall, "The necklace is mine!"

Shiva rolled to avoid a hard blow from the angry woman, "What damn necklace?"

"It's mine! Where is it?"

Shiva had gone through Helena's pockets without finding anything except for a ancient piece of paper with a drawing of a necklace. She kicked her assailant in the gut to push her as far away as possible. "I don't have a necklace, and she doesn't either. I searched her.

"She must have it." Cheetah attacked Shiva again, the oriental woman ducked.

Cheetah grabbed Shiva by her neck and hit her harder against the ground. "You are dead!"

Shiva gasped, surprised by the strength of the woman.

Cheetah raised her claw.

"Wait!" Shiva whispered, raising her hand "She doesn't have it, but I know where is it…"

"What?"

"I checked her, she doesn't have it," Shiva coughed. "…But I know where you can find it…"

Helena let her head fall back; she couldn't break the ropes, she felt so sick and staying conscious was hard. She tried to keep her eyes open, knowing she was in big trouble with those two women there, but this was useful information.

"Talk." The Cheetah growled.

"You want the necklace, I want the other woman. I think both can get what we want." Shiva coughed again, "Release me, let me explain…"

"Don't try to play with me…"Tthe woman released her and stepped back.

Shiva rubbed her neck and stood up, she tried to move, but Cheetah growled.

"Easy," Shiva said, she pointed toward a table, "Is that what are you looking for?"

Cheeta turned and saw the ancient paper that had been in her cave. She went to it grabbed it. The woman turned angry and shouted "You stole this from me!"

"No! I found it in her pocket!"

Cheetah turned and glared at the brunette. She suddenly jumped towards her, raised her easily with one hand. "You were in my cave? I'll kill you."

The brunette winced, feeling the strong hand on her throat. She struggled and kicked Cheetah with her knee, but the woman didn't move.

"You should be paralyzed! I poisoned you!" Cheeta shouted annoyed, "Maybe you need another dose!"

The inhuman woman raised the brunette over her head easily and threw her against the wall. "How did you find it?"

"Ooof." Huntress grunted.

"Cheetah, stop!" Sandy raised her hand.

"Who the hell are you?" Cheetah growled and in a second was over Huntress raising her by her lapels, "How did you know where my cave was hidden?"

"Fuck you…" Huntress clenched her teeth, glaring at her.

"Don't be stupid, Helena!" Shiva put her hands over Cheetah's. "Kill her and you'll never see the necklace."

"She must confess." Cheetah smashed her back against the wall harder. Helena's head hit the concrete and she saw stars.

"I know who would have it. I think we can help each other."

"Talk." Cheeta glared at her.

"She doesn't work alone, she works with a woman, the woman that I'm looking for. I'm sure she has your necklace," she waved toward Helena "and I know she would do anything for her life. So we will have an exchange. I need her alive to get the woman, and getting that woman you will get the necklace."

Cheetah released Huntress and she slipped down the wall. "So we don't need her."

The brunette curled up on herself; that woman hit hard as a mule. She focused on trying to remain conscious.

"No, I know where to find the necklace, I just need your promise to not kill her before I do the deal, and… The other woman is mine; the necklace yours?"

"And her?"

"She is in not in the deal, she is out." Shiva crossed her arms and looked at Huntress moving restlessly on the floor.

"I will enjoy killing her."

"She is out I said, I'll give you the necklace."

Cheeta was silent for a few seconds, then pointed at Shiva, "Be careful, I'll kill you if you try to double cross me."

Shiva knelt next to the brunette; she leaned and brushed the hair away from her face. The young crime fighter was still recovering. "Barbara does have the necklace, right?" She picked up the ancient paper with the drawing of the necklace that CheetaH had thrown to the floor and put it in front of her face, "I found this in your pocket, Barbara has it, you were taking it to her, right?"

Huntress spit at her.

Shiva closed her eyes a second trying to contain her anger. She slapped her on the face, "Don't push your luck, Helena…" She stood up and cleaned her face, "The other woman has it. I'm sure." She said to Cheetah.

"All right…"

"You said you poisoned her."

"Yes, it's a potent virus that attacks the meta cells; it would kill a normal human in an instant. But in a meta human, it acts slowly. I needed time to make her tell me where my necklace is; but she'll be dead in 48 hours."

"Dead?"

"You want the other woman, I want the necklace," Cheetah said with a cold voice. "Call the woman now."

Shiva looked at her in silence a few seconds, it wasn't in her plans to kill her ex-friend, but… she couldn't do anything to avoid it. She picked up the mobile phone next to the next table.

-----------------------------------------

Barbara looked impatiently at the numbers on the screen while the elevator moved up. The transponder was on her lap and, firmly held in her right hand, the small vial. It contained the sample from which she would try to find an antidote. Had she been able to move her feet, she'd be tapping them impatiently. When the door finally opened, she wheeled out, to find Alfred with the phone in his hand.

"One second, she has just arrived." He covered the speaker. "It's her, Miss Barbara."

The redhead wheeled toward him and took the phone. "Barbara Gordon."

--Miss Gordon, what a pleasure hear you.--

"Who is this?"

--Don't you remember me, Miss Gordon? It's Sandra, Sandra Wu San.---

"Sandy?" She looked at Alfred, surprised. He frowned.

--Okay, no more introductions, Miss Gordon, I know you will try to locate me. I'm proposing an exchange, you and the necklace for Helena.---

"What are you…?"

--No time for explanations, Miss Gordon. I'll see you at the dockyards, Gate 4. If you want to see Helena again, move fast, I think she's very sick.---

"I need to give her an antidote. How I can be sure she's all right and you are not lying?"

--All right.--

Barbara heard steps and, after a few seconds, a voice.

--Mommy wants to talk to you, say hi…--

"Helena?"

Silence over the com.

--She doesn't want to say hi,-- Sandy said --She's shy. Maybe she needs to be pushed.--

Barbara felt a shiver on her back when she heard an inhuman growl. She recognized it immediately.

Cheetah.

What was Cheetah doing there?

The next was a hard thud and a cry. That cry was definitely Helena's.

"Sandy, stop!". She heard another thud and another cry from her protégée. "Stop, Sandy! Don't hurt her." The redhead grabbed the arms of her chair with such force that her knuckles turned white.

--Is that enough, Miss Gordon?--

"That was not necessary, Sandy!" The redhead pressed her lips together with anger. "You want me, not her."

--You asked for it. Not me. Maybe now you will understand I'm not playing.--

"All right, all right. I'll be there with the necklace." Barbara brushed her hair back nervously. "Just don't touch her."

--Just don't test our patience. Cheetah is not good with that... You know that, right? Helena thinks she is a bit rude, but I think she's okay. You have two hours. Dockyards, Gate 4. I don't need you to tell you that you must be alone, right? Be nice, you know Cheetah is not patient.--

The phone line cut.

----------------------

"You don't need to be so rude." Shiva glared at Cheetah. The brunette was curled up at her feet.

"I'm tired of her games. I don't have time for this."

"Well, she will be here in a few. You heard me. She will come for her."

"Yes. I heard it, I'll see you later." Cheetah stormed out of the room.

Shiva raised her brow and looked her friend on the floor and walked toward her, "Stubborn as always." She took her by her arm to help her up. She p and touched her skin. "Jesus, you are burning up."

She tried to help her to her feet, but the young crime fighter fainted in her arms.

--------------------------------------------------------

Barbara hung up the phone and was silent for a few seconds. Alfred looked at her, concerned.

"Are you all right, Miss Barbara?" he asked softly.

"It's Sandy…" the redhead sighed.

"Lady Shiva?" Alfred asked surprised, "She was…."

"She isn't… I don't know why she has her, I can't understand it." The redhead leaned back in her chair.

"Where is Cheetah?"

"I don't have any idea," Barbara was confused, "but she knows about the necklace too, and she wants to exchange it and me for Helena."

"What?"

"Dammit, I need to work on the antidote faster…" She turned her wheelchair toward the lab.

"But you can't go, Miss Barbara," Alfred followed her, "She could kill both…"

"We don't have any other option. It's the only way to try to save her; Sandy told me she is sick, if the drug affected Helena, she is as helpless as Dinah is now. And I need to be close to her to inject the serum before it's too late. How is Dinah?"

"Unconscious."

"Alfred, come with me."


	13. Chapter 13

_**Thanks for all your comments, suggestions and post. I'm sorry for the delay... I promise finish it this week.**_

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Helena felt a sharp stab of pain in her side. She almost jumped in place. She tried to move her hands but they were still tied.

"Easy, easy, I'm bandaging you."

The voice echoed from far away. She half opened her eyes. Sandy was there. She tried to push her hand away, but couldn't move. She was so sick.

That sucked. She was trapped like a damn rat. Her mind focused on Barbara. Those two women were murderers and now they were looking for her, that wasn't good.

"This wound doesn't look good, Helena."

The brunette winced.

"I'm almost finished, wait," Sandy whispered, "Don't hate me. I'm doing what I must do."

Helena felt the words stick in her mouth, it took her a few seconds before she could talk with a whisper "Don't touch Barbara…"

"I'm sorry Helena, you know why I must do this. I didn't plan on capturing you, I have been following her for weeks. It's done." The woman finished patching up Helena's side and wet a cloth in cool water. Helena was covered in her own sweat.

"…school?"

"Yes, you almost discovered me there. I was wondering how to catch Barbara, I found you and "her" fighting at the rooftop, she was going to kill you." Sandy moved the cloth to clean her face.

The brunette closed her eyes and turned her head to the other side.

Sandy raised her brow and cleaned it anyway, "It was at that moment when I thought that the best way to get Barbara was getting you first. Why does that woman want the Egyptian necklace?"

The brunette didn't respond. She hated to say it, but the cold cloth felt good. So good. She felt she was in hell, the heat was terrible. Her lips were dry.

"Tell me, she told me she poisoned you; you are fighting against it, but you are losing, you will die, let me help you. Tell me and I'll find the antidote to save you."

"…water…"

Sandy rubbed her temples, "I don't have time for this."

The brunette closed her eyes "…please…"

Sandy took a glass and filled it halfway with water, she sat on the bed and helped the girl to drink. The brunette swallowed a few sips with difficultly. Sandy put the glass on the table and looked her, Helena let her head fell back. Everything was so confused inside her mind.

"I'm sorry, Helena..." Sandy sighed.

Helena moved her lips trying to say a word but her world turned black and she passed out.

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Barbara's Hummer stopped at the dockyards. She switched off the ignition and looked around, the place seemed to be deserted. She removed her seat belt and turned on her mic, "I'm here, everything is calm… How goes it, Alfred?"

--I gave Miss Dinah the antidote and it is working well. She looks much better. Gibson is with her now.--

"Good. I need to figure a way to get Helena out of here and give her the antidote, too." She took a small bottle out of her pocket.

--Be careful, Miss Barbara.--

The driver's side window shattered. She moved away, instinctively shielding her face, and Cheetah was next to the window. Barbara tried to get to the other side, but Cheetah opened the door and grabbed her by her jacket.

The redhead flew out and hit the ground hard.

"Where is my necklace?" Cheeta grunted.

Barbara looked around, trying to find a way to escape. In a second, the inhuman woman was over her. She took her by her neck and raised her easily, "I said, where is my necklace?"

"…I… I didn't bring it…" the redhead gasped.

"I want it."

Barbara's back crashed against some wood boxes behind her. She rolled on the ground and coughed, trying to take air into her lungs. The woman's strength was incredible. Cheetah walked toward her and easily lifted her.

"I'm not going to ask again..."

Barbara raised her hands and hit both sides of Cheetah's neck, the woman released her and she fell heavily to the floor.

Cheeta growled and turned angrily on her.

Barbara took a baton out of her jacket and hit the woman in the face. She wasn't expecting her, she was expecting Shiva. Cheetah moved over her, she tried to hit her again, but this time the feline grabbed her stick and broke it easily. Barbara only had a piece of broken stick in her hand. Before she could think, she was flying and hit a storage box with her back.

"What the hell are you thinking? You must have it!"

Barbara rolled to her side. Damn. That hurt. She raised her head just in time to see the big shadow of the woman was over her again. She moved quickly, and taking the piece of stick that she still had in her hand, she buried it in the feline's abdomen.

Cheeta growled and fell over her heavily. Barbara held the piece of stick hard in her hand; she remianed still, waiting a few seconds for Cheetah's next movement, but it didn't come. She let her head fall back. That had been close.

"Well, well, you still fight well… Batgirl."

Barbara used both hands to push the heavy body away from her. Shiva was standing there.

"I was going to kill her myself, but it looks like you've taken care of her. It's saved me the trouble." The oriental woman grinned and walked toward her.

"Were you working together?"

"Not exactly, but, by accident, our roads crossed and I needed to 'employ' her a few hours so as to avoid her killing me."

"Where's Helena?" The redhead sat on the ground.

"Safe…"

"You told me you'd make the exchange. Me for her, and let her go."

"Yes, that was my original plan, before that freak appeared and began asking about a necklace. Why she does she want it, Batgirl?" She kneeled next to Cheeta and began to search her.

"I don't know." The redhead fixed her eyes on her enemy. She needed to find a way to save her protégée's life. and her own.

"You know," Shiva took out the piece of paper that she'd found in Helena's pocket, "I found this. Helena had it."

"I don't know. You promis…"

Shiva found the small vial with the antidote and showed it to Barbara "Do you know what this is?"

The redhead frowned.

"This will save Helena's life. Of course, if you are nice to me."

Barbara narrowed her eyes. Shiva was ambitious. "Let's make a deal, I don't know why Cheetah was looking for it, but I can help you find it. Cheetah just told Helena that when put together with the other three pieces, it gives power. But first, I want treat Helena. She's sick, she needs help."

"I don't trust you." Shiva sighed.

"And I don't trust you. We're in the same situation."

"I'll kill you, Gordon, I brought you here for just that reason." Shiva stood up and took out a Chinese star.

"You'll do it," the redhead said with cold voice, "but you will never know why she was looking for the Talisman with such persistance. Maybe it's a treasure, or maybe it's power, as she said."

"She could be lying."

"Maybe, but you have the paper in your hands, Helena told me she took it from an ancient book and it's the key to using the pieces."

Shiva paced a few moments, examining the piece of paper.

Barbara had hit her target. Shiva was hesitating, she continued, "Let me treat Helena, I'll do the research. I'll tell you how to use the Talismans."

"Where are they?"

"I know where to find them. I know where Cheetah'a cave is. Helena was there and I have the last one. I'll do the research for you, but the last Talisman, that one, I'll only give to you when Helena is safe and far from here."

"Fair deal."

"Yes."

"All right, just don't try any tricks or both of you will be dead."

Barbara nodded, "In the back of the Hummer, there is a manual chair..."

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The rain was falling harder. She was in a dark, cold place. She looked around. She couldn't recognize where she was. She heard a loud growl. A shiver ran down her back. From nowhere, strong hands wrapped around her neck. She tried to break the grip over her neck, but it was stronger than she was.

She tried to breathe, with desperation she tried to hit the woman behind her, but she couldn't reach her.

Gibson flung his magazine away and stood when he saw Dinah abruptly sit up. Her eyes were opened wide in terror, and she was gasping, breathing heavily. He put his hand on her shoulder.

"Easy, Dinah, breathe."

She looked around, scared, "Gibson?"

"You are safe, home." He took her hand, "It was a nightmare."

"Damn…" The teen covered her eyes with her hand.

"I suggest that you rest. Everything is okay." The young man helped her move back on the bed.

"What happened?"

"You were infected with a virus, Alfred gave you the antidote just a few hours ago. You still need to recover.

"What are you doing here?"

"Alfred asked me to keep an eye on you."

"Barbara? Where is she? And Helena?"

"It's okay." Gibson said gently, "They will back in a few. Now, lie back, you need to rest."

She laid her head on the pillow and examined her surroundings. Yes. She was at home, she was in her room. Suddenly, she remembered what had happened.

"Cheetah was fighting us…"

"Yes, yes, don't worry, everything is okay." He hated lying to her. But Barbara had asked it of him. It was useless to worry her now. She needed to recover.

Dinah closed her eyes. Gibson took her hand and looked at her in silence. He glanced at the watch on Dinah's night table, Barbara had left almost six hours ago and there was no one to notice her and Helena's absence. Alfred still was at the Delphi trying to help her.

He needed to be patient.

But he couldn't be patient, just sitting there, waiting, not knowing what had happened to his lovely Huntress and to Barbara.


	14. Chapter 14

That place was cold and dark, the signal from Helena's mic had been lost because they were many feet underground. She needed to increase the power of the signal. It was not the first time this happened.

Sandy stopped in front of an old metallic door. She took out her key holder and opened it. The door cracked under its own weight. "She is inside," she said to her.

The place seemed to be an old fridge room. The redhead saw her young protégé unmoving on an old bed. She wheeled toward her, worried.

Barbara stopped next to the bed and touched the girl's face, the girl was burning up and shivering. " Helena? Are you all right?..." Her eyes stopped on the bloodied bandage on the girl's waist and on her tied hands. She moved her hand inside her pocket and, frightened, she looked inside; she pulled her fingers out. They were wet. The small, light vial with the antidote must have broken when Cheeta hit her outside. "Damn!"

"What's wrong?"

" Sandy, the sample with the antidote is broke, I need to go back home and bring more…"

"First things first." Sandy interrupted, resting her side on the door frame.

" Sandy, she is sick; she would…. "

"The virus kills a person after 48 hours. She has time. If you work fast, I'll free her before. When she is free, and before I kill you, I'll let you make a phone call to any person you want and give instructions to pick her up and give her the antidote."

" Sandy! She was your friend!" Barbara tried to contain her anger.

"As you said, she was my friend." Sandy crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"I'll do whatever you want, but I need to help her first." The former Batgirl carefully removed the patch over Helena's waist and examined the wound. "This is infected… I need to help her now. She is hot."

The young criminal sighed. "I'll give you one hour. There is a cooler with ice under the desk and alcohol and gauzes on top of it."

"I need to uncuff her."

Sandy sighed, analyzing the situation in silence; she was alive just because she wanted to know about what secret the talismans were hiding. Helena was totally knocked out, so she wasn't a risk. She looked inside her pockets and threw her a single key. "Just don't try any tricks; she will pay with her life." She closed the door and locked it.

Barbara took the brunette's hand, her breath was heavy; that wasn't good; she brushed her hair back with her left hand. " Helena, can you hear me?" She noticed her lips were dry.

The brunette half opened her eyes. "…water…" she whispered weakly.

The older woman took the plastic glass from the night table and filled it with water. She reached and raised Helena's head. The girl took small sips of the clear liquid. "Don't worry," her mentor said, "you will be okay. I'm going to get you out of here."

Helena's look was lost and she didn't answer.

" Helena?" Barbara moved her hand to her ear, "Alfred, the vial of antidote is broken, I need another dose."

--Got it, Miss Oracle. I'll do it immediately. How is she?--

"I don't know what to think. She is presenting a different reaction to the virus," She wet a cloth in the cold water and cleaned the brunette's face. "In Dinah, the virus paralyzed her and she was cold and unconscious. Helena is warm, very warm."

--Every meta human has different abilities, so Dinah and Helena's DNA cells would be completely different.-- Alfred pointed out.

"Yes, and it seems as if the virus changes," Barbara moved the cloth along the brunette's body "according to the DNA of each metahuman."

--So, it's umpredictable.--

"Yes, I don't know what expect; now Helena is warm and shivering, overwhelmed by the fever. I need the antidote." Her eyes stopped on the gauze covering Helena's wound, "I don't like this wound in her side. It's infected… Do you have my location now?"

--Yes, clear… I'll come there.--

"No, wait for my signal, Shiva's here, I need her far away before getting Helena out."

--How do you expect to do that?--

"Using her greed." She heard the door opening, "I must go, she's back."

------------------------------------------------------------------

She leaned back in her manual chair. She rubbed her temples, she had been working on that ancient papers many hours. She carefully examined the ancient page again and read the symbols. It was like a puzzle; an millenia-old puzzle that had hidden its secrets very well. She was working inside the small room where Helena was lying. Shiva had locked her inside with all the papers she thought she would need.

Her eyes fixed suddenly on a small detail. She cocked her head and examined the paper closer. It almost seemed as if... She moved her glasses up on her nose with her finger. Dammit… she couldn´t identify a few symbols, maybe the most important hieroglyphics.

Helena moaned, calling her attention; she immediately turned and wheeled toward her. She took the cloth over her forehead and wet it in the bowl on the night table. The girl half opened her eyes, slowly.

"Hi…" the older woman smiled gently, "how do you feel?"

"Barbara?"

"Yes, it's me…" She put the wet cloth over her forehead.

The brunette looked around, disoriented. "Where am I?"

"Shiva locked us in." Helena started to sit up, Barbara tried to stop her by putting her hand over her shoulder. "Easy, calm down…"

Against her own will, the brunette felt her head spin, and coughed. "We can't stay here…" she mumbled, trying to organize her thoughts. She hated feeling so sick. "She will kill you…"

"No, not now," Barbara moved the hand on her back and rested the other one over her stomach to keep her still, "She wants me alive until she discovers the secret behind the necklace Cheetah was looking for."

"You can't…"

"I can, I need time to get you out of here. She thinks it's a treasure."

"It's not a treasure…" Helena closed her eyes, trying to ease the nausea that was invading her.

"What?" Barbara frowned.

"You can't tell her…"

"Tell her what, Hel?"

"The four pieces open a hole between the world of death and this one." The girl coughed hard. She winced and curled up, holding her side, "damn…"

Barbara cradled her in her arms. "Easy… what are you talking about?"

"I read the page…" Helena closed her eyes, feeling she was falling in a deep hole, "It's a ritual..."

The hieroglyphics on that were in the page weren't common. Selina had taught her a very ancient language known only to very few people, a few scientists. Barbara helped her protégée to lie back on the mattress. She knew Narmer had been a terrible king, who killed thousands of people before being murdered by his own wife.

She felt the young girl relax in her arms, she was losing consciousness again. " Helena, please focus," she took the girl's chin and raised her head, "What did you read?"

"Uh…?"

"Try to focus, what did you read?"

Helena blinked and tried to organize her thoughts "The pieces… would bring back King Narmer…" Another roundof coughing interrupted her. "The necklaces… are a puzzle... reading the prayer and following…the ritual at the end… of the book you can open the door between the two worlds." Her voice lowered to almost a whisper.

"A door?"

"… He would comeback as a demon." Helena tried to remain conscious, but she passed out, her head falling on the red head's shoulder.

"Dammit…" Barbara growled, touching her forehead, Helena's condition was getting worse. She moved her head gently onto the pillow. The lock of the door clicked. Shiva walked inside and her cold gaze pierced in her. "Well? Did you get it?"

"Yes, I got it. I need the other necklaces that Cheetah stole."

"Explain."

Barbara tossed her a small leather bag, "That's the pendant Cheetah was looking for. I need the other three to assemble the puzzle. It shill show you the place where **King Narmer** hid his treasure. I'm sure I know where Cheetah hid the other three pieces. In her cave. I can give you the location. Helena was there, she found that piece of paper there. When you return, I'll tell how to use it and where."

"Are you planning something?"

"No, I need all the pieces to work on it and complete the puzzle. The pieces break into pieces and make a map. You want me. I'm here. Just ask that you let me stay with Helena until you get back. The cave is near here. Couldn't take you more than forty minutes there and back."

Sandy leaned over her chair and her face stopped a few inches from Barbara's. "My first goal is to kill you. I will do it now."

"You can do it. But you will lose the opportunity to find that treasure."

"You want time."

"I want to save Helena."

Sandy smiled, she moved back. The opportunity was good. Helena was incapable of moving, and Barbara wouldn't be able to move her or leave her alone and escape. "All right. I hope you are not thinking about escaping," Sandy said to her.

Barbara turned to see her, "I'm not thinking about it."

Sandy grabbed her by her blouse and lifted her out of her chair, "Killing you now is very easy." She pushed her hard against the wall. She took out a Chinese star and put it over her jugular, "Just a small cut and all this is over. What do you think? It would be fast."

Barbara looked at her and said with a cold, but firm, voice: "It's your choice."

Sandy fixed her eyes on her. She looked like a normal person. A simple, disabled woman. But she had killed her sister. She threw her hard against the floor and took the wheel chair, raising it over her head.

Barbara covered her face with her hands. Sandy smirked and crashed it against the wall.

The chair broke into pieces.

The oriental young woman barked. "Now you are not going anywhere." She walked outside the room and closed it with a hard slam.

Barbara heard her steps move father and farther away. As soon as they disappeared she stood up. She had the transponder hidden on her back, but she had preferred to wait. She didn't want expose to Helena. She had a few minutes to try to escape with her.

------------------------------------------------------------------

A voice called her. The voice was far away. She tried to swallow, but her mouth was dry. She felt a hand on her head. The hand was cold… or maybe she was very warm.

She turned to avoid the contact, but a hand on her shoulder tried to restrain her movement. She pushed herself back. She opened her eyes, but everything was blurry. A voice was talking to her, but she didn't understand what was being said. She felt arms wrapping around her.

That was like an electric shock.

She needed to escape.

Her mind focused on one thing: escape.

That was going to be pretty hard, the virus had overwhelmed her, but she needed to try.

In an attempt to free herself from the strong arms around her, she pushed using her feet.

Maybe she pushed very hard. Her shoulder hit the ground roughly with the person holding her, on top of her.

On her injured side.

Damn. That had hurt.

She struggled, but the grip around her was firm. The voice kept calling her and a scent filled her nostrils. The scent.

Barbara.

She blinked. The voice said her name again.

The older woman sighed with relief, feeling Helena stop her struggle. "That's it, calm down, easy…" Helena rested her head on her mentor's shoulder; she was warmer than a few hours ago. The virus had overwhelmed her. She moved her arm behind her and tried to stand up, "I need you to help me, Helena, we need move out of here." The young woman didn't answer. Continued training had advantages, such as moment like these.

"Just give me a second," the brunette whispered, taking a deep breath. She stood up, helped by her mentor. The brunette was thin, but heavy. They walked toward the door, the redhead tried to open it, but it was locked.

"Let me try…." Helena mumbled.

"But…"

Before Barbara could say another word, Huntress kicked the door forcefully, breaking it. The redhead held her tight. "Are you okay?" she asked, "Can you walk?"

The brunette nodded… "I'm just a bit seasick."

The redhead took her hand to her ear, "Alfred, I'm out, where do I go now.?"

-- To your right Miss Oracle…--

"Is he tracing you?" Helena asked softly.

"Yes, your comm doesn't work. I think it was disabled druing your fight with Cheetah." Barbara moved her arm around her waist and moved her arm behind her back. She began to walk through the corridor, "Come on… We have a few minutes before she comes back…"

--Now to your right, Miss Oracle. Open that door, there is a stairway there.--

"This place is really odd." The redhead began to walk up the stairs. They creacked under her feet, the wood was old. She felt it moving under her feet.

"Is this secure?" The brunette held the banister with her free arm.

"I hope so."

Helena tried to follow the steps of her mentor, but she stumbled and her knees gave out. Oracle held her strongly, "Come on Huntress."

The girl coughed and closed her eyes a few seconds. She held Barbara's arm around her waist, "Just a second."

"Are you okay?" Concerned, Barbara kneeled next to her and touched her face, she was burning.

"Yes… I'm okay…"

"Bad liar as always…" The older woman smiled and gently helped her to stand on her feet again.

"I'm a good liar." Helena coughed. She felt her knees buckle and the walls twirl around her. "Barbara…" she mumbled.

The redhead felt her protégé relax in her arms, she grabbed her by her waist.

" Helena?…" She tried to wake her unsuccessfully. Using all of her upper body strength, she moved her across her shoulder. "You eat too many poptarts… I need to do something about it." She winced, feeling a sharp of pain in her back. That was not a good moment for the transponder to fail.

She took a few seconds to breathe and began to walk up the stairs. "Alfred… Huntress is unconscious, be ready."

--Yes, Miss Oracle.--

The red head opened the back door of the Hummer. She felt another sharp pain in her back and she supported herself in the door to avoid falling.

"Damn…" she growled.

Helena recovered suddenly. She was conscious, but dazed.

"Hel," Barbara said, "help me, up."

"Are you going somewhere?"

The redhead turned immediately; Shiva was standing up a few meters from them.


	15. Chapter 15

Thanks for all your post and your comments! Im sorry if this fic flowed too slow!

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Barbara sat the brunette on the ground. "Hold on, Helena."

The young woman grabbed her hand and tried to stand up. "You can't, let me…" she didn't want Sandy to hurt her.

"Stay here," Barbara held her down easily with a hand on her shoulder and turned to face the other woman. She took out her sticks and opens them up.

"Happy to see me?"

"Not exactly…"

The Chinese woman looked at her friend on the ground, who glared at her.

"Sandy, no…" Helena growled.

"I see you cheated, Barbara." Sandy smirked, her gaze toward her legs. "The chair was a trick."

"She needs help, Sandy. She is sick."

"And my sister, Barbara? Remember her? She was fifteen years old."

"You know that if I could undo what I did, I would, but what happened was an accident, and I am sorry. I don't want to fight you."

"Your apology will never be accepted. I told you once 'This debt can only be repaid in blood'." She took out a three petal-shaped shurikens and threw it at her.

The red head ducked in time. She wasn't playing.

"You are fast." Shiva smirked circling her.

"Sandy, stop!" Helena said, moving to her feet.

"Stay out of this, Helena!" Barbara shouted. "This is just between her and I."

Shiva tried to kick the older woman, but Barbara avoided it, turning and hitting her with her stick. The movement of her hands was incredibly fast and Shiva was on the ground.

"Interesting. You improved." The woman rolled to avoid another of Barbara's blow.

"Shiva. I don't want to fight you, please. I need to help Helena."

The Chinese woman attacked her again, The redhead blocked all her blows with her sticks; her experience and ability were superior. Shiva hit the ground again. Annoyed, she stood up and charged her enemy. With her elbow, Barbara stopped a kick and hit her hard on her head.

The young woman stumbled back. The former Batgirl hit her stick against her shin. The blow was painful. She bent down.

"Please, Shiva," the redhead said, breathing heavily, "stop this."

The woman at looked Helena who was leaning against the side of the Hummer, watching them. Angry, she stood up and raised her hand with a shuriken in her hand.

The Barbara's quick worked and she grabbed her wrist. "No!"

Shiva pulled her down and both struggled. Shiva tried to free her wrist. With her free hand, she felt a belt around Barbara's waist. She hit her head against the redhead's and moving as fast as she could, she pulled another shuriken from her bag and used it as a knife against the transponder. Barbara groaned; a short circuit was created.

Shiva pushed her back using her feet and raised her Chinese star toward her. "Good bye."

Helena looked at the fight; when she saw her friend fall to the ground, she reacted and jumped over her ex-school friend. "No!"

Shiva, angry, struggled with her; she took her by her neck. "Stay away! This is not your problem!"

Helena grabbed her wrist. "I'm not going to let you do this. You are wro…" A kick to the side of her head cut her off.

"I said stay away!" Shiva shouted hitting her again. "I don't want to hurt you!"

Helena coughed and grabbed her strongly her wrist "Please, no, Sandy…."

"I'm sorry… You asked for this…" She hit her hard on the side of her head with her elbow and the brunette fell heavily to the ground. She bent down to pick up the Chinese star on the floor. She was going to finish this.

Shiva felt a blow in her gut. And another under her knees that made her fall. Barbara put a stick across her neck and held her still. "It's over, Sandy."

"I'll… kill you." She struggled, but the redhead kept the stick pressed into her neck.

"It's over I said!"

A car appeared, suddenly turning around a near corner at high speed. It would be Shiva's henchmen; "Run, Barbara…" Helena tried to stand up, but she collapsed on the ground again, barely conscious.

"No!" The redhead was blinded by the car lights, but kept her the grip harder. The transponder was hurting her, but she wasn't going to let her protégée alone.

The doors opened.

"Barbara!" A familiar voice was heard.

Green eyes narrowed, trying to see who was there. "Reese?" she asked.

"Are you okay?" Dinah's voice asked, moving out of the vehicle.

"Yes, I'm okay." She felt a great relief

Reese went to her side pointing at Shiva with a gun, "Don't move."

"What are you doing here?" The redhead was stunned to see Dinah walking towards her. "You are not well…"

"You needed back up." The blonde smiled watching Reese cuff Sandy "A bit of a temperature won't kill anyone."

"How is Helena?" the detective asked.

"Sick but we still have time," Barbara answered.

"Your transponder was failing. Can you walk?" Dinah tried to help her to stand up.

"I'll survive. We need to help Helena."

The teen showed her a small vial. "Alfred gave me the antidote."

"Excellent. Let's do it."

They went to her. Helena moved restlessly on the floor. The teen touched her cheek while Barbara prepared the injection, the brunette jerked back.

"Hey, easy!" Dinah said. "She is burning up, Barbara."

"I know… Remove her sleeve."

"Dinah?" he brunette asked, stunned at seeing Dinah at her side.

"Yes, it's me. Don't worry."

"Where… is Barbara?"

"Here. Don't move." The redhead buried the needle in her arm. "We need to take her home. Can you drive, Dinah?"

"Sure."

"Great, my back is killing me." She removed the needle. "It's done."

"How is she?" Reese arrived

"She'll be fine, I injected the antidote. Help us get her to the Hummer. Dinah, give me a hand," Barbara requested, taking her hand to her back. The transponder was failing and it was painful.

Reese moved his arm behind the brunette and caressed her cheek, happy to see her again. "Hi Hel."

"Hi Reese." Helena smiled lightly.

"We need to get you home." He took out a handkerchief and cleaned her face.

"We need stop to seeing each other like this." She rested her head on his shoulder.

"Agreed, I'll take Sandy to the police station and I'll be with you in a few."

The brunette nodded and closed her eyes. He kissed her forehead and lifted her easily.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The redhead stirred, but she stopped her motion when she felt a sharp pain in her back. She grunted and tensed for a few seconds. When the pain diminished, she relaxed her body. Taking a breath, she opened her eyes and fixed her gaze on the ceiling.

It had been a rough night, but she had finally managed to get Helena back to the ClockTower; her transponder had been failing again and hurting her back since she was carrying the young woman out that place. The extra-weight was too much for the small computer system. It had failed and broken at the exact moment that she had settled herself on the front seat of the Hummer.

She turned her head. Her chair wasn't next to her bed as it usually was. She rolled her eyes. Alfred. She stretched her arm and took the phone, pressing a button. She didn't get an answer and she pressed it again.

"Dammit." She grumbled to herself. Knocks at the door called her attention. "Come in."

The gentle butler appeared with a tray in his hands. "Good afternoon, Miss Barbara."

"Good af… afternoon?" Green eyes blinked.

"Yes." He put the tray on the night table next to her. "It's twelve."

"Twelve?" she asked, stunned "Wha….?" Suddenly, she remembered the last cup of tea that Dinah had forced her to drink after she injected the antidote into Helena and insisted on keeping her vigil. How dare he and Dinah drug…

"You were so tired. You fell deeply asleep." Alfred voice interrupted her thoughts. "We didn't want to disturb you; your back was terribly sore."

He was as bad a liar as he was loyal. She rubbed her temples trying to control her anger. "And my chair? Why is it not here?"

He crossed his hands behind his back. "I was afraid that if you tried to move to your chair when you woke up, that you would hurt yourself more."

"Alfred, I know what I do, I hate…" She tried to sit and a sharp pain hit her back, she winced and rested her head on the pillow again.

"Excuse me, Miss Barbara, I misunderstood your health. Do you want me to bring your chair now?" he asked seriously.

He'd won again, he was right and she hated it. She bit her lip trying to endure the pain and her anger. "Don't say another word."

"I'm sorry, Miss Barbara, but it was for the best. The girls need you and you will not be able to help them if you don't take care of yourself."

The redhead took a deep breath. She hated feeling helpless. "How is Helena?"

"Much better. She was awake a few minutes an hour ago and the first thing she said before falling asleep again was "I'm hungry." He walked toward the closet and took two pillows.

Barbara couldn't avoid smiling, she was relieved. "Yes, she is much better."

"She recovers much faster when she sleeps. The antidote is working well on her, but the virus had overwhelmed her. "

"Yes, I know. She scared me last night. Without her immune system, she would have been dead days ago."

"Miss Dinah did a wonderful job."

"I know, she is young, but learns fast. She will be an expert in cybernetics in a few years… She is okay?"

"Totally recovered." He walked toward her with the pillow "May I?"

The redhead nodded and slowly pushed herself up a bit to let him put the pillows behind he,r to help her to remain reclined on the bed. She bit her lip. Damn. That easy moment hurt like hell. When he settled the pillows, she felt a great relief moving back again.

"Hi, Barbara." Dinah's bright smile greeted her.

"Hi, Dinah."

"How do you feel?" The blonde hopped inside the room happily.

"Sore…" She took the pills from her night table.

The young girl sat beside her on the bed. "I checked your back last night…"

"I'll survive?" the older woman mocked, taking the pills with a glass of water.

"You are lucky," the blonde said seriously.

"Helena?" Barbara wanted to change the subject. It was best; she was lost without those two.

"Sleeping like a log. A quake couldn't wake up her. She's a really heavy sleeper. She is recovering pretty quickly, and her wound is healing. Took me two days, but I'm sure she will be okay later this afternoon." Dinah gave her a laptop.

"What's this?"

"I scanned your back and sent it to Dr. Thomkins; she is not in the city, but I emailed her after I called her up."

The redhead sighed and took the laptop. "What did Mother Goose say?"

"Two days until she comes to check you."

"Two days?" Barbara almost shouted, "I can't! I have work to do."

Dinah smiled. "She told me you would say that and asked me to give you your laptop, check your e-mail; she will send you a note and ask you to stay quiet."

"Smart move," Alfred said, "I'll bring your lunch, Miss Barbara."

-----------------------------------

Helena sat at the balcony looking into the night. With her eyes closed, she felt the wind caressing her face and playing with her hair. The familiar sound of the wheelchair made her turn her head.

"You should be resting."

"You should be, too." Barbara answered.

"I'm just sitting here."

"Me too."

Helena laughed lightly. The older woman played with her fingers. "Sandy will be in prison again."

"It's sad how life changes sometimes." The brunette bit her lower lip "The world was so different when we were in school…"

"A moment can change your entire life, Helena." Barbara looked at her.

"I know… I know it well."

"But the most important thing is that those moments help you grow up, and not to let yourself fall into the darkness."

"The line is pretty thin." Helena hugged her legs.

"What line?" Barbara raised her brow.

"The line between dark and light."

"Yes."

"The darkness is more exciting than the light, you know?"

"Yes, I know that, but it's more painful too."

"True."

"You killed for me," Helena said with a whisper.

Barbara lowered her gaze and rubbed her hands ."I didn't want to do it. It was instinct. I didn't think… I just knew I needed to survive to help you."

The brunette kneeled in front of her and took her hand. "I'm sorry, I didn't want..."

"I know." The redhead smiled gently and patted her hands, "Don't worry. I just hope you will never be forced to do it…" She lowered her gaze "It's not a pleasant feeling, it's something you can never feel proud of. We don't give life, we can't take it. It's not our right."

"Some people deserve it." Helena stood up. "I'd prefer to rip off someone's head, rather than leave him living, knowing he would hurt more people."

"Believe me, Helena, it's something I don't want you to feel. It breaks your soul, evil or not, it breaks your soul."

"But you did it. Sometimes we need to do it, whether it breaks our soul or not." The young crime fighter challenged her. "I'd do it if someone tried to touch you or Dinah… as you did it for us."

Barbara felt uncomfortable, she shook her head.

"Sorry, Barbara…" Helena understood her and hid her eyes behind her bangs. "I know you don't want it, and I hope I never have to do it, but… I'd do it without hesitation for my family. You are my family, I can't lose you too."

The redhead felt the tension lift, Helena was opening up to her, something difficult for her to do. She smiled at her again.

The young crime fighter changed the topic, wasn't good be so sentimental. "What did you do with the other necklaces?"

"I gave them to the police," Barbara explained leaning back on her chair.

"And the legend from the ancient book?"

"The book too…"

"Too?" Helena asked, surprised. "If someone reads the ancient legend inside, the necklaces would be in danger. Another crazy villain would try to…

"Yes," Barbara interrupted "I hope the museum can preserve it as much as they can. IT would be a shame if this book wasn't cared for. When that happens, usually some pages break or disappear." Long fingers raised a wrinkled yellow paper.

Helena frowned and took it. She opened it carefully. It was the legend. She glared at the redhead.

"I told you." Barbara said "It's necessary that those books be in a library or pages may get lost and be irretrievable."

"You…"

"I… hope the book will be well preserved in the museum." The redhead took the pages from Helena's hands and put them in her pocket. "It would be a shame if more pages were lost." She looked at the brunette's Egyptian necklace. "It's a really nice piece."

"Mom had a good taste."

"Always." Barbara smiled "You too."

"I know it. I'm cool."

"And you have her modesty, as well..."

"Don't forget her phenomenal blue eyes."

"Oh, come on." Barbara hit her lightly, "Want dinner? I'm hungry."

"Sure." Helena stood up. "After you."


End file.
